The Insurance Plan Makeover

By Meg Reid, Undergraduate Research Fellow, February 16, 2012 at 11:30 am

Start celebrating, health insurance customers: we’ve just taken a major step towards consumer-friendly insurance. Last week, the Department of Health & Human Services announced new rules that require insurance providers to create user-friendly plan summaries so that consumers can easily compare plans.

Under the new rules, insurers will have to boil down the volumes of misleading insurance jargon that currently make up policy guides into clear, concise, 8-page summaries. These summaries will be in plain English, with a glossary to define any potentially confusing terms. Best of all, 12-point type is required – no fine print!

The summary breaks down the insurance plan, describing what will and won’t be covered. It also explains what portion of the bill the insurer will pay and what percentage the individual is responsible for. Each summary will also have to include two examples of coverage for common conditions (pregnancy and type II diabetes) so that the reader can understand the financial breakdown. One thing that isn’t required of a summary is a clear premium price.

Says Marilyn Tavenner, acting administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, "For too many Americans today, choosing a health plan means reading through a human resources book usually the size of a small phone book and important information about eligibility and benefits is often buried in the fine print. With these new rules we're making it easier for consumers to find the plan that is right for them."

Consumer advocates, who were worried that the administration was going to weaken the requirements for the summaries, applauded the release of the new rules. This is one of the most popular components of the health reform law, with 84% support according to the Kaiser Family Foundation last November (PDF). Of course, insurance companies are complaining about the high costs of the new requirements – but isn’t it about time they were up front with us about our insurance?

The new summaries will roll out this September. Check out an example of a plan summary here (PDF).
 

Posted in Health Care | Related Topics: Health Insurance  Health Care Reform