For Immediate Release
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Contact: Josh Moenning
(402) 438-1598
High health insurance costs are a strain on families and individuals, particularly those who do not receive insurance from their employer and those who suffer from chronic health conditions. Legislation I have introduced in Congress, America’s Affordable Health Care Act (AAHCA), will provide more affordable health insurance options.
There are many reasons why health insurance is so expensive. One cause is the requirements that insurance policies provide various benefits, regardless of whether the consumer wants those benefits. These “benefit mandates” are costly—they can add between 20% and 50% to the cost of an insurance policy. Studies estimate that benefit mandates price as many as 1 in 4 Americans who are uninsured out of the health insurance market.
The AAHCA permits insurance companies to offer up to three insurance policies with limited benefit mandates, called “health benefit plans.” The legislation will allow people to purchase personalized health plans with benefits and services they need while not being required to pay for those they do not. Individuals and families who do not receive health insurance coverage through their employer or from government would have the option of purchasing these lower cost plans.
The AAHCA also provides coverage opportunities for those with chronic health conditions, who might otherwise have difficulty finding insurance, by providing more funding for high-risk pools. High-risk pools are state programs that provide an important safety net for people with chronic medical conditions who might otherwise have difficulty finding insurance because of complex health needs. The AAHCA also helps develop best-practice protocols for state high risk pools with the goal of improving the efficiency and the availability of such pools to those in need.
With the price of health insurance rising higher and higher, Americans need more affordable options like those provided under AAHCA. For more on this legislation and other health care issues, view my interview with the Center for Medicine in the Public Interest on its website: http://www.cmpi.org/.
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