Senate and House Lawmakers Unveil Health Reform Legislation
May 27, 2009 – Senator Tom George has recently introduced legislation called "MI Health" that is designed to provide affordable coverage options for the uninsured with incomes below 300 percent of the federal poverty level. The legislation establishes a 13 member "Cover Michigan Board" to establish guarantee issue individual market health insurance products rated for age, tobacco use, body mass index (BMI), and healthy behaviors that would be available to the uninsured with subsidized premiums. Funds for the premium subsidies would come from a surcharge of 1.8 percent on health care claims, an annual fee on Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Michigan, and a possible quality assurance assessment on hospitals. Other components of the legislation would require "MI Health" products to pay providers Medicare rates and would establish an insurer funded reinsurance mechanism to fund claims between $25,000 and $250,000.
House Health Policy Committee Chair Marc Corriveau has also recently introduced health reform legislation that makes changes to the individual market and provides premium subsidies for those with incomes below 300 percent of the federal poverty level. Under this legislation all individual market products would be guarantee issue with premium rating allowed for age and healthy behaviors and premiums approved with medical loss ratios of 80 percent for HMOs and 70 percent for health insurers. All insurers would also be required to offer two benefit plans in the individual market deemed "basic" and "enhanced." An annual assessment on nonprofit insurers would fund individual market premium subsidies for those with incomes below 300 percent of the federal poverty level. Another component of the legislation would establish an individual market insurer funded reinsurance mechanism to fund claims over $25,000.
