News Release

HHS Secretary Sebelius’ Statement on NAIC Recommendations on Medical Loss Ratio

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius released the following statement today regarding the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) recommendations to HHS on medical loss ratio:

“We thank the NAIC for the recommendations, which the Commissioners finalized today on how best to implement the medical loss ratio policy, which will ensure consumers get the best value for their health care. We recognize that these recommendations are the result of many months of hard work by the Commissioners and their staff and we commend them for their open process and their responsible, thoughtful work.

“These recommendations are reasonable, achievable for insurers and will help to ensure insurance premiums are, for the most part, supporting health benefits for consumers.  Not only do they ensure consumers receive better value for their health care dollar, they recognize special circumstances in different markets to preserve market stability and employee coverage as we transition to the new marketplace in 2014.

“The next step is for the Department of Health and Human Services to issue a medical loss ratio regulation that will provide clear guidance to stakeholders in the coming weeks.

“We will work quickly to promulgate this regulation, using the NAIC recommendations as a basis, because we believe these new policies will help ensure not only cost savings but higher quality care for consumers. We look forward to working closely with NAIC throughout the process.”

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Last revised: May 7, 2011