Inasmuch as I knew Texas would benefit from the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) disproportionately, I had not seen it get much press. Having the Houston Chronicle personalize this truth as well as provide the actual data should help the process of changing the minds of many Harris County residents specifically and Texans in general.
Our Republican leadership have systematically lied to the residents of our state. It is imperative that we get the truth out and ensure that these politicians that have so misled Texans lose their jobs. Their actions are evil and have likely cost the lives of many, the fiscal well-being of many families, and the health of the state.
Texans, wake up and make your vote count. We must stop our GOP politicians from their continual malpractice.
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Texans get nearly $167 million in health insurance rebates
Jeannie Keve, Houston Chronicle By Jeannie Kever
Updated 10:12 a.m., Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Getting $795 in the mail is normally a good thing, but Katy Fernandez saw it as evidence of something she had long suspected.
"We were being overcharged."
Fernandez, her husband, Louis, and their daughter Sarah each received rebates for their individual health insurance policies last month, three of the 1.5 million Texans to benefit from a provision of the Affordable Care Act that requires insurance companies to return a portion of the premiums if they spend less than 80 percent on medical care.
Texans received $166.9 million in rebates, more than residents of any other state. Most of that – $134.2 million – went to people who, like the Fernandez family, bought individual policies.
The deadline for paying the rebates was Aug. 1.
The average rebate per Texas family was $187, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. Average rebates in other states ranged from $5 in North Dakota to $622 in Alaska.
Supporters of the health reform law, approved by Congress in 2010 and upheld by the Supreme Court earlier this summer, say the rebates show the law is working.
"It’s holding insurance companies accountable," said Ethan Rome, executive director of the advocacy group Health Care for America Now. "It’s insisting they spend more on health care than on executives’ compensation."
He suggested the large number of Texans qualifying for rebates is a result of loose regulations.
"Texas is the Wild West," Rome said. "Insurers have been free to run roughshod over consumers with virtually no regulation whatsoever, and thanks to Obamacare those days are over."
In response, John Greeley, a spokesman for the Texas Department of Insurance, said his agency is responsible for regulating small group and individual policies, reviewing rate filings for actuarial soundness and investigating rate increases in response to consumer complaints.
Discounts possible
The law, known as the Medical Loss Ratio standard, affected 12.8 million people nationally.
In Texas, most of those affected were individual policyholders, but about 10 million of the total nationally were insured through their jobs, so they won’t necessarily see the money. Employers might use the money to benefit employees through steps such as offering discounts on future premiums.
Texans get nearly $167 million in health insurance rebates – Houston Chronicle