State's decision to halt health exchanges worries insurers
By Guy Boulton of the Journal Sentinel Jan. 1, 2012
A recent decision by Gov. Scott Walker could give the federal government greater influence over the state's health insurance market - and that worries some in the industry. Walker announced late last month that the state would halt work on the online marketplaces, or exchanges, required under federal health care reform until the U.S. Supreme Court rules on the constitutionality of the law.
The exchanges could help consumers and small businesses compare competing health plans. They also could increase price competition by requiring health insurers to offer more standardized plans and by providing consumers with better information about what they are buying. But how well they work will depend on dozens of decisions, such as how much flexibility to give health insurers in determining what to cover, and the roles of insurance agents and brokers. Under the health care reform law, the state must have a plan in place to set up an effective exchange by January 2013. If it doesn't, the federal government will set up the exchange. There's a risk in halting the work on the exchanges until the Supreme Court rules: If the law is upheld, the state would have only about six months to put together a plan. Whether that can be done in that time frame is a question. It also is a concern for health insurance companies.
"We do not want decisions about Wisconsin's insurance market to be made in Washington," said Phil Dougherty, senior executive officer of the Wisconsin Association of Health Plans. One worry is that health insurers would face stricter regulations from the federal government than from the state Office of Free Market Health Care.
"No question," said Jon Rauser, president of the Rauser Agency, an insurance broker in Milwaukee. The Office of Free Market Health Care has said it backs a "free-market, consumer-driven approach" for the state's exchange. Consumer advocates have already criticized the working groups set up to advise the state, saying they are dominated by representatives of insurance companies and brokers.
more at: http://www.jsonline.com/business/states-inaction-on-health-exchanges-concerns-reform-advocates-ud3km6u-136515053.html
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