Thursday, September 23, 2010
Sen. Chuck Grassley, ranking member of the Finance Committee, today made the following comment on news that state insurance commissioners told the White House that insurers in several states may not be able to meet the Medical Loss Ratio requirement set for next year in the health care overhaul law, and reports that Susan Voss, president-elect of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners and Iowa's insurance commissioner, asked the federal government for a gradual phasing-in of the requirement in Iowa to avoid having consumers lose their insurance if companies are forced to exit the market.
"News that Iowa is already seeking to delay some of the new insurance requirements in the partisan health care overhaul is just more proof of how poorly this law was put together. Concerns have already been raised about how the new federal Medical Loss Ratio (MLR) standard will hinder disease management programs and efforts to reduce fraud and abuse, but now it is clear that the timeline for this new standard may also cause Iowans to lose their coverage. Since the health care bill was written behind closed doors without public input or bipartisan support, it's not surprising that we're seeing states trying to avoid all the flawed policies that are scheduled to go into effect over the next few years."
