Texas consumers top the medical-loss ratio rebate list -- receiving an estimated $186 million in insurer refunds

Media outlets from Texas, Minnesota, Florida, Connecticut and Georgia offer insights into what these rebates will mean on a more local level. 

The Texas Tribune: Study: Texas Tops Health Insurance Rebate List
Texas consumers and businesses are poised to receive an estimated $186 million in rebates from health insurers under a requirement of the Affordable Care Act ... In July 2011, the Texas Department of Insurance requested that the state be able to phase in the new provision's requirements over the course of three years, instead of implementing them immediately, but that request was denied. ... The estimated figures of rebate amounts and percentage of citizens who will receive rebates were high for Texas in all three categories [of insurance markets] (Jacob, 4/26). 

(St. Paul) Pioneer Press: HealthPartners, UnitedHealth Among Insurers To Pay Rebates
Some health care consumers in Minnesota and across the country might get a cut later this year of the record profits being posted by health insurers.  But the per-person take could be underwhelming.  The rebates are mandated by the 2010 federal overhaul of the nation's health care system, which set a limit on the share of premium revenue that health insurers could keep for administration, marketing, taxes and profit (Snowbeck, 4/26).

Georgia Health News: Georgians Due $30 Million In Insurance Rebates
Georgia consumers will qualify for an estimated $30 million in health insurance rebates this year due to a newly implemented provision in the federal health reform law, according to an analysis released Thursday. Nationwide, health insurers will have to pay an estimated $1.3 billion in rebates, said the report by the Kaiser Family Foundation (Miller, 4/27).

The Connecticut Mirror:  Insurers Could Pay $14.6 Million In Rebates To State Consumers
Insurance companies could be required to issue nearly $14.6 million in rebates for health plans covering more than 212,000 Connecticut enrollees later this year as part of the federal health reform law, according to an analysis released Thursday by the Kaiser Family Foundation. … In Connecticut, the analysis found, three plans each in the individual, small group and large group markets would be required to issue rebates, covering 212,106 members (Levin Becker, 4/26).

The Miami Herald: Floridians To Get $148.5 Million In Refunds, Study Says
Thanks to the healthcare reform law, 325,000 Florida purchasers of healthcare insurance are likely to get rebates of $152 each later this year, according to a study released Thursday by the Washington-based Kaiser Family Foundation. That's part of a total refund of $148.5 million due to Florida individuals and businesses, the report said.The refunds are triggered by a provision in the legislation requiring that health insurers use at least 80 percent of premiums in the individual and small business markets for healthcare, with no more than 20 percent going for administrative and sales costs and profits. For large businesses, the threshold is 85 percent that should be spent on healthcare costs (Dorschner, 4/26).