Behind the Curtain: How to Protect Consumers from Excessive Premiums and Make Health Insurers Justify Rate Hikes

Consumers Union Headquarters

Please take a moment to complete the evaluation, available online here.

To see the full agenda click here (download agenda PDF)

Slides

Introduction to Health Insurance Rates

Larry Kirsch, Managing Partner, IMR Health Economics (download Larry Kirsch’s slides PDF)

Federal and State Approaches to Rate Review

Sally McCarty, Director, Rate Review CMS/CCIIO (download Sally McCarty’s slides PDF)
Mila Kofman, former Superintendent, Maine Bureau of Insurance (download Mila Kofman’s slides PDF)
Teresa Miller, Administrator, Oregon Division of Insurance (download Teresa Miller’s slides PDF)
John Powell, Assistant Deputy Superintendent for Health for the New York State Insurance Department (download John Powell’s slidesPDF)

How Advocates Can Participate in Rate Review, from Improving Transparency to Rate Filing Review

Joe Ditré, Executive Director, Consumers for Affordable Health Care (download Joe Ditré’s slides PDF)
Mike Russo, U.S. PIRG Education Fund’s Policy Analyst (download Mike Russo’s slides PDF)

Underlying Costs and Cost Containment in Rate Review and How Do Exchanges Fit In?

Lynn Quincy, Senior Policy Analyst, Consumers Union (download Lynn Quincy’s slides PDF)
Christopher Koller, Health Insurance Commissioner, Rhode Island (download Christopher Koller’s slides PDF)
Georgia Maheras, Principal, GJM Consulting (download Georgia Maheras’ slides PDF)

Materials

Reports

“Health Policy Brief: ‘Unreasonable’ Insurance Rate Increases,” Health Affairs, March 31, 2011 (download brief PDF)

Kaiser Family Foundation, “Rate Review: Spotlight on State Efforts to Make Health Insurance More Af­fordable,” December 2010 (download report PDF)

The Price of Deregulation: How “File and Use” Has Undermined New York State’s Ability to Protect Consumers from Excessive Health Insurance Premiums, New York State Insurance Department, June 8, 2009 (download the file PDF)

Publications

An Advocate’s Guide to Health Insurance Rate Hikes What You Can Do to Protect
Individual Market Consumers (download toolkit PDF)

Rate Review Model Act Individual Market (download model act PDF)

How Much Is To Much: Have Nonprofit Blue Cross Blue Shield Plans Amassed Excessive Amounts of Surplus? (download report PDF)

Federal Regulations on Rate Review

CU Comment on HHS Rate Increase Disclosure and Review (download comments PDF)

CU comment on HHS Rate Increase Disclosure and Review Reporting Requirements (download requirements PDF)