Yesterday, the DC Council took a major step to move health care reform forward in the District. By a unanimous vote, the council approved the “Better Prices, Better Quality, Better Choices for Health Coverage Emergency Amendment Act of 2013,” which will create a unified, one-stop marketplace for individuals and small businesses to purchase health insurance plans. This will allow that marketplace, DC’s Health Benefits Exchange, to take shape as the District and other states implement the Affordable Care Act, a.k.a. Obamacare.
The action taken by the council was important to optimize competition, transparency, and affordability, as well as guarantee that all health care plans offered in the District meet quality standards under the law. The legislation requires all health insurance plans for both individuals and small businesses be sold through the exchange by 2015. Some in the insurance industry had pushed to delay implementation, but consumer advocates successfully argued that this would only handicap the exchange and disadvantage residents.
There are several reasons why a sole, unified marketplace is advantageous. First, the exchange’s online portal will offer an apples-to-apples comparison of plans, fostering competition and providing consumer protections because all plans through the exchange will meet specific criteria set by local and federal governments. In some states, this kind of competition already is leading insurers to cut their prices.
For small businesses in DC, the exchange will expand health care options and purchasing power. Competition will lower prices and expand choice, while some businesses will qualify for tax credits worth up to 50 percent of their annual premiums, making insurance much less costly than it is now.
DC Fiscal Policy Institute applauds the efforts of the DC Council and the exchange authority to make getting health insurance as affordable and consumer friendly as possible.
But there is still important work to be done. An amendment that should be included in permanent legislation would allow the Department of Insurance, Securities, and Banking expanded authority to review proposed rate increases. This would help ensure that premium hikes are directly tied to quality and cost of services rendered and would create a strong mechanism for consumers to report excessive rate increases. The council did not approve this amendment as part of the emergency act, but even councilmembers who did not vote for the amendment said they understood the reasoning and intentions behind the proposal.
DCPFI looks forward to the council approving this important consumer protection in the permanent bill.
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