15 state have tried to regulate health care costs by mandating specific MLRs

[eridani]

http://www.familiesusa.org/assets/pdfs/medical-loss-ratio.pdf

Abject failure, all the way around. Could it be because the state governments have to rely on insurers themselves for accurate data to calculate MLRs? Gee, whodathunk THAT would have been a problem? :sarcasm:

Many states have laws against recission and denial of coverage for pre-existing conditions as well. Seems that their budgets just aren't up to enforcing them, which would require going up against the insurers' big bux. The obvious solution here is to give insurance companies a trillion of our tax dollars. :sarcasm:

So, the feds, with NO specific agency mandated or funded to enforce the weak tea "regulation" proposed in HCR, are going to do better than the states because why?

[robinblue]

1. My major fear, and I think well founded, is that Insur. companies will work

hard to find and USE any loopholes available

[eridani]

2. Count on it

I am not usually an admirer of DiFi, but she did propose an actual agency to regulate premium costs. Good for her! Naturally it was shot down as "not having a budgetary impact." Parliamentarians are free to use sophistry to justify anything, and acting on behalf of the public really could have been done IMO.

[Fumesucker]

3. You mean the loopholes their lobbyists are writing into the bill?

Loopholes you could navigate an oil tanker through sideways?

[eridani]

4. Yep. THOSE loopholes

Our historic "reform" was written by an ex-VP from WellPoint. I'd like to see some tumbrils and guillotines real soon now.

[robinblue]

6. lol. YES.

[Political Heretic]

5. MLR mandates without paired price controls actually encourages insurers to raise rates

and heath service providers to raise costs.

[eridani]

7. + 1000 n/t

[mzmolly]

8. I must disagree as a resident

of one of the states you mention.

[eridani]

12. That would explain why we have to pay twice as much as every other country

--to get worse care.

[mzmolly]

13. Because you're question is unrelated

to your topic.

[leftstreet]

9. K&R

[berni_mccoy]

10. First of all, that link is from June. Secondly, most of the state data is inaccurate

As many of the states mentioned don't have laws to back up MLR enforcement.

Furthermore, MLRs on individual plans are running around 60%. 85% is a huge improvement from that.

[eridani]

11. And 85% is no more enforcible

Your plans for getting accurate data from people whose interests are best served by inaccurate data are what, exactly?

[riderinthestorm]

14. Yup, I've said this before but obviously it bears repetition... nt