New rules would help consumers comparison shop for health plans

The proposed regulations, issued Wednesday by the Department of Health and Human Services, are designed to make sure insurers and employers provide consumers with "plain English" information about health insurance coverage to empower them to make informed choices.

The Washington Post: New Health Insurance Rules Would Let Consumers Compare Plans In 'Plain English'
What would your health insurance cover if you got pregnant? How much could you expect to pay out of pocket if you needed treatment for diabetes? How do your plan's benefits compare with another company's? Starting as soon as March, consumers could have a better handle on such questions, under new rules aimed at decoding the fine print of health insurance plans (Aizenman, 8/17).

The New York Times: Proposal Would Aid Deciphering Of Benefits
The Obama administration proposed new rules on Wednesday that would require health insurance companies and employers to provide information to policyholders and employees describing health benefits, coverage and costs in plain English (Pear, 8/17).

USA Today: Rules Would Require Clear Health Insurance Info
Insurers would have to provide cost information to consumers who requested it before they bought health insurance, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. The proposed changes are part of the new federal health care law (Kennedy, 8/17).

PBS Newshour: Proposed Rules Call For 'Apples-To-Apples' Health Insurance Comparison
Finding the cheapest insurance plan for diabetes or breast cancer patients may soon be just as easy as flipping soup cans to compare calorie counts and sodium content. Under a set of proposed federal regulations issued under the health reform law, insurance companies and group health plans would need to provide all potential customers with an easy to understand fact sheet that breaks down information about benefits, co-pays, deductibles, and coverage limitations. Some plans already offer that kind of information, but typically not until after customers have already purchased the insurance. And too often, the packet is so long and dense it makes the average American's eyes glaze over (Kane, 8/17).

The Hill: HHS Releases New Labeling Rules For Insurance
The Health and Human Services Department on Wednesday released new guidelines for the standardized information that all insurance plans will have to provide under the health care reform law. The law requires insurers to provide a uniform explanation of benefits and a standardized glossary of insurance terms. HHS released a blank version of the forms that insurers will have to provide (Baker, 8/17).

Bloomberg: Health Overhaul To Make Insurers Label Plans Like Cereal Boxes
Health insurers will have to provide descriptive labels similar to those found on food products under a consumer-information provision in the 2010 health overhaul the U.S. began rolling out today. The draft rules will make insurers such as Indianapolis- based WellPoint Inc. (WLP), the largest U.S. health insurer by enrollment, detail coverage costs, deductibles and payments for common services, including delivering a baby. The new plan descriptions will be in the form of an eight-page summary available in March 2012, according to the draft rules (Armstrong, 8/17).

Kaiser Health News: Insurance Experts Hope New Rules Will 'Empower Consumers With Information'
Kaiser Health News' Stephanie Stapleton talked with Mila Kofman and Sabrina Corlette about proposed rules unveiled Wednesday by the Department of Health and Human Services requiring insurance companies and employers to have simple, standard forms and information about their health plans (Stapleton, 8/17).