Young, healthy could shoulder costs of health reform
Amy Gillentine | October 30,2009 12:00 am
Premiums for healthy, young adults could rise as much as 140 percent if health care reform legislation is approved by Congress.
A study by Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, which was released last week, considers the following three scenarios: a young healthy 25-year-old man with individual insurance, an unhealthy, 60-year old couple, and a family with two children and a small company that employs eight people.
Who will pay the most after reform? The 25-year old man, whose premiums will increase from $90 a month to $216.
Families and small businesses would see increases ranging from 9 percent to 52 percent. Only unhealthy, older people would see a rate decrease, but still see monthly premiums of $1,200.
“The report clearly shows that premiums would go up, rather than down,” said John Martie, president of Blue Cross and Blue Shield. “Some of the reform bills have flaws that ignore important things like access and costs. These numbers are not cherry-picked. The results show that these bills will affect people.”
The study used data from current insurance policies. The reason for the high increases, Martie said, is that the proposed reforms eliminate or constrain rating factors used by insurance companies that reward younger people with discounts.
“And they require that we insure everyone, but they don’t have high enough penalties for not having insurance,” said Rebecca Weiss, director of government relations for BCBS. “The fines right now start at zero for the first year and go up to $750 in 10 years. That doesn’t cover the costs of insuring anyone.”
Read the rest of this article at CSBJ.com
