Study: MLR rule would have translated into $2B in rebates to consumers

If the health law's requirement that insurers spend at least 80 percent of premiums on medical care had gone into effect in 2010, instead of a year later, private plans would have had to refund as much as $2 billion to consumers, either in rebates or reduced premiums, according to a study by the Commonwealth Fund, which supports the law.

Modern Healthcare: MLR Rule Would Have Meant Rebates For Many: Study
Private health insurers would have paid about $2 billion in rebates or reduced premiums to about a quarter of policyholders if a healthcare law provision scheduled this summer had instead started a year earlier, according to a study... A study issued by the Commonwealth Fund, which supports the law, concluded that almost $1 billion in rebates would have been issued to about 5.3 million people who receive coverage through the individual market if it started tracking spending in 2010, instead of in 2011 (Daly, 4/5).

Politico Pro: Report: $2B In Rebates If MLR Applied In '10
Consumers would have received about $2 billion in rebates if health care reform's new medical loss ratio requirements had been in effect in 2010, according to a new Commonwealth Fund report. The MLR rule, which requires health insurers to pay back customers if the plan spends more than 20 percent to 25 percent of their premium dollars on administrative expenses, would have required about $1 billion in rebates to 5.3 million people in the individual market. Another $1 billion would have gone to 10 million people in the small- and large-group markets (Millman, 4/5).

Kaiser Health News: Capsules: 2010 Insurance Rebates Would Have Hit $2 Billion Study Says
Consumers would have received rebates of nearly $2 billion -; in some cases as much as $300 a member – if the health-law cap on insurance profits and overhead had been in place in 2010, estimates a new study (Hancock, 4/5). 

Arizona Republic: New Law May Bring Health Rebates
A new report shows Arizona consumers would have collected more than $69 million in rebates from their health-insurance companies if new regulations over how much insurers must spend on medical care were in effect in 2010. Arizona consumers will begin receiving rebate checks this summer from their health-insurance companies under the nation's health-care law (Alltucker, 4/4).