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June 13, 2012 at 09:49 AM
Few consumers who buy their own individual or family health coverage through the Web seem to know about the new federal minimum medical loss ratio (MLR) rebates.
Analysts at eHealth Inc., Mountain View, Calif. (Nasdaq:EHTH), the company that runs the eHealthInsurance.com website, have published data supporting that conclusion in a summary of results from an anonymous online survey of 348 of eHealthInsurance.com customers.
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (PPACA) requires most carriers to spend at least 80% of individual and small group revenue on health care and quality improvement efforts or else pay rebates.
Insurers are now in the process of filing the reports that show how much they will be sending back. Some groups have estimated the total could be over a $1 billion.
House Republicans have complained about federal agencies’ spending on efforts to communicate about PPACA with consumers, and the eHealth data suggest that ignorance about basic PPACA provisions is widespread.
The eHealth found that only 89% of all consumers who participated in the survey said they knew about the MLR rebate program. The percentage who knew about the rebates was somewhat higher — 18% — for participants who said they support the whole law than for participants who said they oppose the law.
Only 8% of the participants who oppose PPACA knew about the rebate program.
