Susan Voss, the Iowa Insurance Commissioner, leads the national association for officials in that position in other states. She is mentioned in this Wall Street Journal story, as Maine & Iowa have asked for a temporary waiver from portions of the health care reform plan — that 80 percent of health care premiums be used on patient care.
An industry publication has a bit more about this. The Des Moines Register has this story and a DC based blog called The Hill has it, too.
Senator Chuck Grassley was the lone member of Iowa’s congressional delegation to issue a written statement on the subject:
Sen. Chuck Grassley, ranking member of the Finance Committee, today made the following comment on news that state insurance commissioners told the White House that insurers in several states may not be able to meet the Medical Loss Ratio requirement set for next year in the health care overhaul law, and reports that Susan Voss, president-elect of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners and Iowa’s insurance commissioner, asked the federal government for a gradual phasing-in of the requirement in Iowa to avoid having consumers lose their insurance if companies are forced to exit the market.
“News that Iowa is already seeking to delay some of the new insurance requirements in the partisan health care overhaul is just more proof of how poorly this law was put together. Concerns have already been raised about how the new federal Medical Loss Ratio (MLR) standard will hinder disease management programs and efforts to reduce fraud and abuse, but now it is clear that the timeline for this new standard may also cause Iowans to lose their coverage. Since the health care bill was written behind closed doors without public input or bipartisan support, it’s not surprising that we’re seeing states trying to avoid all the flawed policies that are scheduled to go into effect over the next few years.”
About O.Kay Henderson
Kay is a founding member of the Radio Iowa network newsroom. In 1994, she became the network’s news director. She’s a featured reporter and commentator on Iowa Public Television’s “Iowa Press,” and the 2002 recipient of the Shelley Award.
Keep moving forward with the plan. Grassley’s comments only serve to delay the benefits of the bill. Interesting that he wasn’t as concerned about thoughtful planning when he sent us into war in Iraq. We’ll be paying that bill for years to come.