Prescription Drug Costs ‘Number One Driving Factor’ For Rising Health Insurance Premiums
Source: Bloomberg BNA
Continued increases in prescription drug costs are “the number one driving factor” for increasing health insurance premiums, according to testimony from Wyoming Insurance Commissioner Tom Glause, who was appointed by Gov. Matt Mead (R), at a subcommittee hearing on small business health care costs held by the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions.
“Health care determines the cost of health insurance. Health insurance doesn’t dictate the cost of health care,” Glause said.
Comments from Glause and other Republican-leaning stakeholders at the hearing were an indication that mortgage-level prescription drug prices are garnering widespread opposition.
Tom Harte, head of an employee benefits company in New Hampshire who spoke on behalf of health insurance brokers, said that between 26 percent and 28 percent of health insurance premiums go toward prescription costs, which can cost as much as $100,000 a month for some enrollees.
In addition to prescription costs, Harte said, his clients are facing “double-digit rate increases” for health insurance premiums. Moreover, deductibles have increased by 47 percent from 2009 to 2014, and many people have unaffordable annual deductibles of $5,000 to $6,000, he said.
Several of the people testifying at the hearing called for giving businesses more flexibility in offering health care coverage to employees.
Warren Hudak, president of an accounting firm in central Pennsylvania who testified on behalf of the National Federal of Independent Business, called for Senate passage of the Small Business Health Care Relief Act (H.R. 5447), which the House passed June 21. The bill would allow businesses to offer health reimbursement arrangements to employees without being penalized.
The Internal Revenue Service issued guidance in 2013 prohibiting the use of such employer payment plans to pay employees’ health insurance premiums. Subsequent guidance similarly prohibited stand-alone health reimbursement arrangements.
Stay on top of new developments in health law and regulation with a free trial to the Health Law Resource Center. Learn more about Bloomberg Law and sign up for a free trial.
Source Link
Filed Under: ACA/Health Reform
Author: Ross Rogers
September 11th, 2017 at 2:41 am
Throughout the awesome scheme of things you secure an A just for hard work. Where exactly you confused me was first in the facts. As they say, the devil is in the details… And it couldn’t be more accurate in this article. Having said that, let me say to you what exactly did deliver the results. Your text is certainly highly persuasive which is possibly why I am taking an effort in order to comment. I do not really make it a regular habit of doing that. Secondly, despite the fact that I can certainly see a jumps in reasoning you make, I am definitely not certain of how you seem to unite your details that help to make the final result. For now I shall yield to your position but hope in the near future you connect your dots much better.
September 21st, 2017 at 5:41 am
Hello! I’m at work surfing around your blog from my new iphone 4! Just wanted to say I love reading your blog and look forward to all your posts! Keep up the fantastic work!
September 28th, 2017 at 7:51 pm
Hello! I’m at work browsing your blog from my new apple iphone! Just wanted to say I love reading through your blog and look forward to all your posts! Keep up the fantastic work!