Policy/Advocacy

Rate Review: What it is and why consumers should get involved!

According to Consumers Union, “Rate review is the process by which state or federal insurance regulators review health plans’ proposed insurance premium rates to ensure that they are reasonable based on a variety of factors.  Although easier in some states than others, public participation has the potential to not only hold down premiums for consumers, but also to apply pressure to reduce the underlying health care cost drivers in a state.”

The key words are “public participation.” You, as a consumer, have to get involved. Fortunately, we have resources below that can help you understand what you can do today–and what we can advocate for tomorrow.

As time goes on, we’ll be adding more resources to help educate advocates and consumers so they can play their essential roles in the process. The goals?

1. To get insurers to do all they can to control costs, and use savings from health reform to stabilize and lower rates; and

2. To increase opportunities for more meaningful consumer engagement.

Resources:

• See and comment on Michigan insurers’ 2015 submitted rates for approval. Use this list to see whether your insurer is raising or lowering its rates in the coming year. You can email comments directly from the page. The deadline for comments is prior to August 1, 2014 for the proposed 2015 rates. Note: This applies only to policies purchased by consumers on the Marketplace.
• An easy-to-read fact sheet on ‘Rate review – What is it and why does it matter?’ by Community Catalyst
• Consumers Union resources and toolkit for understanding and working with our state’s rate review process
• The Michigan Department of Insurance and Financial Services’ (DIFS) website on rate review