CAHI Defends Underwriting

The Council for Affordable Health Insurance has released an analysis of the possible side effects of efforts to limit health insurers’ ability to reject high-risk applicants.

Merrill Matthews, executive director of CAHI, Alexandria, Va., prepared the report using results of an assessment done by Mark Litow, an actuary.

Many health reform advocates want “to require health insurers to accept every applicant, plus they want to charge everyone the same premium, or close to it,” Matthews writes. “And they claim these changes will only work if everyone is required to have coverage. The problem is that these changes, especially if people are given a choice of several plans and can switch periodically, will drive premiums significantly higher for everyone.”