MICHIGAN Health Insurance : EasyToInsureME : health care reform

MICHIGAN Health Insurance : House Democrats and Senate Republicans introduced health care reform proposals last week. Both proposals include new state financing mechanisms to expand access and reform the individual market. The House plan calls for collection of assessments equal to tax exemptions from the state's non-profit HMOs and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan to provide subsidies for the state's SCHIP program and the uninsured, up to 300 percent of the federal poverty level. (Because BCBSM currently insures 90 percent of the state's SCHIP program, in effect their assessment would be returned in program expansion revenues). Also, a a high-risk/reinsurance pool would be established in the State Office of Financial and Insurance Services, with funding by commercial insurers. The pool would be responsible for claims payment for individual market enrollees at $25,000 per individual, per year. The House package would make substantial changes to the Michigan individual market regulatory environment and would level the market/regulatory framework for insurance carriers, BCBSM and HMOs. A single bill in the house package would impact the small group market by eliminating use of group experience in the calculation of renewal rates.