CHARLESTON, W.
Va., Jan. 11 -- The office of Sen. John D. Rockefeller IV, D-W.
Va., issued the following news release:
Senator Jay Rockefeller last night joined West Virginia Insurance Commissioner Jane Cline and representatives from the Offices of the Insurance Commissioner (WVOIC), for their last public information and stakeholder engagement forum as they work to develop West Virginia's Health Insurance Exchange. WVOIC hopes to receive stakeholder input and gather ideas from the public to make the exchange work well on behalf of West Virginians. Rockefeller is chairman of the Senate Finance Subcommittee on Health Care and is a supporter of health insurance exchanges.
"The health insurance exchanges are one of the cornerstones of the health reform law," said Rockefeller, chairman of the Senate Finance Subcommittee on Health Care. "Exchanges may seem like an abstract concept to many people - but they are basically a marketplace, like a farmer's market, that offers multiple private health insurance choices and streamlined enrollment in public programs - like Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program.
"Exchanges will result in a much better, more seamless experience with private health insurance for individuals and small businesses. In fact, in a recent survey by the Small Business Majority, one-third (33%) of small businesses who currently do not offer insurance said the exchange would make them more likely to do so.
"Getting the exchanges right is no easy task.
I am confident that with the input of West Virginians like the ones present tonight, and continued dialogue, our state will truly have an exchange we can be proud of. It's so important for West Virginians' voices to be heard and I wouldn't have missed this opportunity to hear from people and take those thoughts back to Washington."
BACKGROUND:
The health insurance exchanges authorized in the 2010 health reform law will serve as a consumer-friendly, organized health insurance marketplace for small business and individual consumers. It will provide consumers with choices of private health insurance plans and serve as a one-stop-shop for health insurance with transparent and consumer-friendly information about plan choices. The exchange will also be the gateway for West Virginians to obtain premium subsidies to help with the purchase of private insurance, and the exchange will facilitate enrollment into Medicaid and CHIP.
More than 100 people attended the forum Monday night. The Insurance Commissioner's office will compile all feedback and use as they move forward in implementing West Virginia's Exchange by 2014.
Specifically, state-based health insurance exchanges must provide:
One-Stop Shopping that Promotes Choice and Competition.
The new health reform law requires states to:
* Create state-based web portals to provide health coverage options available in a zip code.
* Make purchasing health insurance easier and more understandable by using the Internet to present consumers with available plans.
* Provide Americans with choice of coverage options among several standard benefit packages that provide comprehensive health care services with different levels of cost sharing.
Information and Promote Transparency.
The new health reform law:
* Establishes standardized formats, definitions, enrollment applications, consumer satisfaction, and marketing requirements to allow easy comparison of the prices, benefits, and performance of private health plans participating in state exchanges.
* Requires a toll-free telephone hotline to respond to consumer requests for assistance.
* Requires states to assist consumers in determining online if they are eligible for health care premium tax credits or public programs. Consumers without access to the Internet may enroll through the mail or in person in a variety of locations.
* Funds health coverage Navigators in states to conduct public education activities, distributes information about enrollment and premium credits, and provides enrollment assistance.
* Awards grants to states to establish, expand, or support health insurance consumer assistance.
Affordable Coverage.
Under the new health reform law:
* West Virginians will receive an estimated $687 million in premium tax credits in 2014, according to Families USA.
* There will be sliding scale tax credits to eligible small employers with fewer than 25 employees and average annual wages of less than $50,000 that purchase health insurance for employees.
Inclusion of Important Market Reforms.
Private insurers participating in the state-based health exchanges must include insurance market reforms, such as:
* Eliminating discrimination by insurers for pre-existing conditions, prohibiting them from refusing insurance coverage or charging higher premiums because of past illnesses.
* Eliminating lifetime limits on the dollar value of benefits and regulates use of annual limits until 2014, when annual limits will be prohibited.
* Prohibiting insurance companies from dropping or watering down coverage for those who become seriously ill.
* Prohibiting insurance companies from charging more because of gender.
* Annual caps on how much insurance companies can charge for out-of-pocket costs. For any query with respect to this article or any other content requirement, please contact Editor at htsyndication@hindustantimes.com
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