Proposed
"Patient Protection" Regulations Are Politically Motivated FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Richard Coorsh October 9, 2000 (202) 824-1787 e-mail: rcoorsh@hiaa.org The following statement was released today by Donald Young, M.D., chief
operating officer and medical director of the Health Insurance Association
of America (HIAA): The Clinton-Gore Administration’s eagerness to issue final regulations
for private health plans before Election Day is a back-door attempt to
achieve political advantage at the expense of employers and consumers.
These new and expensive "one size fits all" regulations would force all
private employee health plans to revise their claims and appeals
processes. They also would subject these private health plans to
unrealistic requirements that are far more stringent than those for the
government’s Medicare program. This "do as I say, not as I do" approach would do little to improve
quality of care for consumers. If anything, it would impede consumers’
access to care by raising employers’ costs by an estimated $155 million in
the first year alone. This, in turn, likely would induce some employers to
drop health coverage altogether. Health plans continue to improve and streamline their appeals and
grievance procedures, and many of them now allow independent medical
experts to review claims decisions. Consumers are best served when health
insurers and health plans can respond directly to their needs. They are
ill served by politically motivated government regulation that would raise
coverage costs and cause employers to drop coverage. Consumer Information | Insurance Education | Publications Copyright © 1999 Health Insurance Association of America |