Q: What challenges do you anticipate your particular state running into with upcoming health care reform provisions?
- There is a lack of timely answers from the Department of Health and Human Services
- The increased cost of coverage, which will occur
- A general sense of uncertainty from the public about the information they were provided and the costs associated
Q: For producers licensed to sell health insurance in your state, what developments might they look out for in the short term?
SR: They may see a continued pressure on the cost of their services.
Q: What should producers concentrate on the most over the next 10 or so years with regard to health care reform's affects in South Carolina?
SR: They should maintain their role "as experts" on the customer purchase decisions.
Q: What did you get out of President Obama's recent meeting with several state regulators?
It was basically a philosophical discussion and airing of issues between the states and federal entities.
Scott H. Richardson was appointed as the director of the South Carolina Department of Insurance by Gov, Mark Sanford on Feb. 15, 2007. He served in the South Carolina House of Representatives from 1992 to 1996 and the South Carolina Senate from January 2000 until his appointment, and previously was as an insurance agent, and later owner-partner, for Carswell of Carolina Insurance Agency.
More state insurance regulator Q&As:
South Carolina Facts At-A-Glance
| South Carolina | United States | |
| Demographics | ||
| Total population | 4,482,700 | 303,343,300 |
| Median annual income | $42,945 | $49,945 |
| Health costs and budget | ||
| Health spending per capita | $5,114 | $5,283 (by state of residence) |
| Average employee contribution for family premium (% of total premium) | 28% | 27% |
| Health coverage | ||
| Uninsured population (% of total population) | 16% | 17% |
| Uninsured children (% of children) | 13% | 10% |
| Medicaid enrollment | 20% | 19% |
| Medicare enrollment (% of total population) | 17% | 15% |
| Monthly CHIP enrollment, June 2009 | 54,406 | 4,966,030 |
| Health status | ||
| Infant mortality rate (per 1,000 live births) | 9.0 | 6.8 |
| Teen death rate (per 100,000 population) | 81 | 62 |
| AIDS diagnosis rate (per 100,000 population) | 15.5 | 12.3 |
| Overweight or obese children (% of children) | 33.7% | 31.6% |
| Adults who visited the dentist/clinic (% of adults) | 67.7% | 71.3% |
| Adults with disabilities (% of adults) | 13.9% | 12.1% |
Source: Kaiser Family Foundation State Health Facts
© Arc, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to TMSalesOperations@arc-network.com. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.