Pennsylvania Consumers to Get $24,232,043 in Health Insurance Rebates Thanks to Affordable Care Act

For Immediate Release                                                                        

April 26, 2012                                                                                       

                                                                                                             

Contact: Jamie Mondics

Jamie@keystoneprogress.org

Pennsylvania Consumers to Get $24,232,043 in Health Insurance Rebates Thanks to Affordable Care Act

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania – Pennsylvania consumers will receive $24,232,043 in health insurance rebates as a result of provisions under the Affordable Care Act, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation report that was released earlier today.

The Affordable Care Act requires that insurance companies spend at least 80 percent of premiums on patient care. This provision, the Medical Loss Ratio (MLR), guarantees that consumer premiums are going back to the consumers themselves—and not use for CEO bonuses or corporate retreats. Insurance companies who do not meet this 80 percent threshold must pay rebates to consumers. The amount depends on the extent to which the insurer fell below the 80 percent.

The MLR provision is just one of the ways that the Affordable Care Act increases transparency and extends new protections to American consumers.

“This year, PA consumers will actually be getting money back from their insurance companies,” said Michael Morrill, Executive Director of Keystone Progress. “This sort of rebate would have been unheard of before the Affordable Care Act, but now we can expect this sort of transparency and consumer protection.”

The rule went into effect on January 1, 2011, and the first rebates to consumers will be issued this year.

Read the full report here.

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