National Insurers Propose Market Reforms

If there is a well-deserved bullseye on one group in the lead-up to a new national health reform round in 2009, it’s the national insurance industry. Their practices of medical underwriting and pre-existing condition exclusions, along with the countless ways they make it hard for consumers to get payment for services when they need it, have made them the agreed-upon number one target of all Democratic presidential candidates’ reform plans. And deservedly so.

New York Times reports that their national trade association, America’s Health Insurance Plans, is now promoting its own agenda for state actions to address some of these concerns. Why? Can’t beat something with nothing (at least most of the time). And, says the Times, they want to thwart Massachusetts style reforms:

But the industry is also trying to have a greater say in any state changes that may be enacted. Many insurers chafe, for instance, over what they consider an overly regulated approach in Massachusetts, which has created an agency to oversee the market for individual insurers as part of a new law requiring everyone to buy coverage.

Most of the scuzzy practices employed by national insurers, such as medical underwriting, are illegal in Massachusetts, thanks to laws passed in 1991, 1996, and 2006. Most of the awful practices legitimately exposed in Michael Moore’s “Sicko” — such as a woman being denied coverage because of her body mass index — are not permitted here. And these reforms were instituted largely with the support of Massachusetts-based health insurers. It’s worth keeping in mind there’s a big difference between the state of the industry in Massachusetts and most of the rest of the nation.