Dan Hilferty, president and CEO of Independence Blue Cross , called the health-care reform law upheld Thursday by the Supreme Court a “first step” towards comprehensive reform, but he cautioned “a lot more needs to be done” to ensure people have access to affordable coverage.
IBC, which has 3.1 million members, is the Philadelphia region’s largest health insurer and also operates one of the largest Medicaid managed-care companies in the country in a partnership with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan.
“The law does not make great progress in improving patient care or lowering health-care costs for our customers,” Hilferty said. “What’s more, major provisions will raise costs for our customers and disrupt coverage unless they are addressed.”
Hilferty noted the penalty for failing to carry insurance in 2014 will be as low as $95 per year. He said younger, healthy adults may choose to pay the penalty rather than obtaining insurance — which Hilferty said can be very costly.
“This program is a whole lot more effective if more people choose to enroll in a health insurance program rather than pay the penalty,” he said, while acknowledging the penalty does increase significantly in subsequent years.
In addition, Hilferty said, insurers in 2014 will be hit by restrictions on how premiums are set for older adults. Premiums for older adults, he said, will be limited to no more than three times that of any other health-care customer. Currently, he said, the range is about five-to-one or six-to-one. The result according to health-care experts, Hilferty said, is individuals under 30 will see their premiums spike.
via Independence Blue Cross chief Hilferty: Reform law a ‘first step’ – Philadelphia Business Journal.