Who’s increasing health insurance premiums? A new tool from the U.S. government lets you plug in your state or insurance company name and get an update on whether they have recently raised their premiums – and by how much.
The tool, located at http://companyprofiles.healthcare.gov/ is part of an expanded transparency effort mandated by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as national health care reform.
The tool is fairly basic – plug in “California,” for example, and you will be told only if any health insurer has recently raised rates by 10% or more. You can also get a limited profile of an individual insurance company and some quick facts, such as contact information, any recent rate hikes, and (starting in 2012) the company’s medical loss ration (the percentage they spend on health care and activities that improve health care quality).
Still, in an age of spiraling medical costs and insurance premiums, greater transparency in the interest of the consumer is always a good thing.
View the tool here.
Tags: Health Care Reform, insurance, insurance premiums, rate hike
