Great news: HHS adds 1,328,381 waivers to ObamaCare
Ed Morrissey
HotAir.com
3/9/2011
Well, give or take a few thousand; that’s as accurate as the 2010 Census data for Maine. The entire state got itself a waiver from the core provisions of ObamaCare, which requires insurers to spend 80% of their premiums directly on provider care or offer rebates for the difference. Maine requested and received a pass on the law so that insurers in the state could continue to operate at the 65% level:
Maine health insurers are getting a temporary waiver from the health reform law’s requirement that they spend at least 80 percent of premiums on care, federal regulators decided Tuesday. …
Specifically, HHS points out that three insurers make up the bulk of Maine’s individual insurance market: Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield of Maine (49 percent), MEGA Life and Health Insurance Company (37 percent) and HPHC Insurance Company (13 percent). MEGA had told Maine during preliminary discussions that it “would probably need to withdraw from this market if the minimum loss ratio requirement were increased.”
Maine won’t be alone in the waiver business, either. New Hampshire, Nebraska, and Kentucky all have applied for waivers, too. Combined, that would add 3,912,691 waivers to the list — since exempting an entire state from the requirements means every resident gets a pass…
The article continues at HotAir.com
CAJ note: About MEGA Life and Health Insurance Company of Maine (H/T Greta van Susteren in her “On the Record” interview with Lou Dobbs tonight)…
The MEGA Life and Health Insurance Company is a HealthMarkets Company
HealthMarkets Company Ownership:
Effective April 5, 2006, HealthMarkets, Inc. (formerly UICI) completed a merger providing for the acquisition of the Company by affiliates of a group of private equity investors, including affiliates of The Blackstone Group, Goldman Sachs Capital Partners and Credit Suisse. Following the merger, the stockholders of HealthMarkets, Inc. include members of management, HealthMarkets’ dedicated insurance agents appointed with its insurance subsidiaries and the investment affiliates of the private equity firms.
HealthMarkets Board of Directors here. A Who’s Who of Goldman Sachs.
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