Dec 23 2011
The state's Democratic House members urge HHS to reject the Perry administration request to give Texas insurers more time to meet medical loss ratio standards in the health law.
Dallas Morning News: 9 U.S. House Dems Oppose Delay Of 'Medical Loss Ratio' Rule
OK, so the Dems in Austin and D.C. are tag-teaming it. On Thursday, eight Democratic U.S. House members from Texas jumped into a fray over state insurance regulators' request for delay of a federal rule that sets medical-spending minimums for health insurers. ... The congressional Dems and their Texas House counterparts see the "adjustment application" as a consumer-unfriendly move by Gov. Rick Perry's administration (Garrett, 12/22).
The Hill: Texas Dems Drag Perry Into Fight Over Health Waiver Request
Texas congressional Democrats are slamming presidential candidate Rick Perry, governor of Texas, over his administration's request for a waiver from the healthcare reform law. Texas House Democrats sent a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius Wednesday urging her to reject the state's request that insurers be allowed to spend a larger portion of premiums on profits and overhead. The law requires health insurance plans to spend at least 80 percent of premiums on medical care or give consumers rebates (Pecquet, 12/22).
Kaiser Health News: Texas Insurers Could Send Rebates Next Year -; Maybe
Texas is one of the 17 states that has asked the federal government to delay the insurance rebate program. But consumers and advocates want the new law to kick in on time in 2012 (Feibel, 12/23).
 This article was reprinted from kaiserhealthnews.org with permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Kaiser Health News, an editorially independent news service, is a program of the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonpartisan health care policy research organization unaffiliated with Kaiser Permanente.
|