Thursday, June 21st, 2012
(NEW JERSEY) – 44,998 New Jersey consumers will receive $7,670,066 in health insurance rebates as a result to the Affordable Care Act’s 80/20 standard. Checks will be in consumers’ hands by August 1st – along with a notice that the rebate is a direct result of the health care law.
Consumers owed a rebate will see their value reflected in one of the following ways:
- a rebate check in the mail;
- a lump-sum reimbursement to the same account that they used to pay the premium if by credit card or debit card;
- a reduction in their future premiums; or
- their employer providing one of the above, or applying the rebate in a manner that benefits its employees
The Affordable Care Act requires that insurance companies spend at least 80% of premiums on patient care. This 80/20 provision 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.
Every New Jersey consumer will receive a notice from their insurance company informing them of the 80/20 rule, whether their company met the standard, and, if not, how much of difference between what the insurer did or did not spend on medical care and quality improvement will be returned to them.
The 80/20 standard is just one of the ways that the Affordable Care Act increases transparency and extends new protections to American consumers.
“This year, New Jersey consumers will actually be getting money back from their insurance companies,” said Joshua Henne, New Jersey spokesman for Know Your Care. “Such a rebate would have been unheard of just a few years back, but thanks to ObamaCare we can now come to expect this sort of transparency and consumer protection. It’s nice to have someone on our side who is looking out for the best interests of consumers.”
The average New Jersey family will receive a $300 rebate. New Jersey is also one of the states whose health insurers have the highest average rebate in the large group market - at $359. For those consumers who are not getting a rebate, it means that their insurance companies are already spending 80% of their premiums on patient care
For many consumers, the 80/20 rule motivated their plans to lower prices or improve their coverage to meet the standard. This is one of the ways the 80/20 rule is bringing value to consumers for their health care dollars.
For a detailed breakdown of these rebates by state and by market, please visit: http://www.healthcare.gov/law/resources/reports/mlr-rebates06212012a.html
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The Affordable Care Act was signed into law by President Barack Obama on March 23rd, 2010. Over the past two years, it has been a tremendous help to millions of Americans as this real reform lowers costs and guarantees more choice for consumers. As additional provisions are implemented, ACA will continue to benefit millions more people.
1 comment:
Using Google, Yahoo, Bing & Lycos search engines for searching a few variations of the question "will I receive a health insurance rebate?"... I still haven't come across one single piece of information that someone can use to find out if they personally will be receiving a rebate from their health care premiums paid. It's obvious that Health Insurance providers definitely won't create any system to assist their customers in this inquiry. There's no defense against the claim that ALL Health insurance companies are crooked in one way or another, so posing the solution: "just call them and ask" just doesn't hold water.
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