Standard Labels to be Applied to Health Insurance Policy Plans

Most insurers and employers will have to spell out plainly the costs and benefits of the health plans they offer starting next year. Why? There was a rule recently released by U.S. health officials announcing a better design informing people of health insurance choices with a standard label, which the Department of Health and Human Services likens to implement with. Among other things, the label will tell customers of their premium, deductibles and out-of-pocket costs, alongside the costs associated with medical events and procedures such as doctor visits including treatments to major illnesses such as breast cancer treatments. Many consumers don’t have easy access to information in plain English to help them understand the differences in the coverage and benefits provided by different health plans.

By making the terms of health insurance plans easier to understand, consumers are less likely to find themselves in health plans that don’t meet their needs. For likely insurers are more concerned that the administrative costs associated with these labels will raise the price of the plans themselves. Insurers support people knowing what they are getting. Their concern is they already have a body of law that tells us what we need to have. The six-page labels follow the recommendations of a group formed by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners that included insurance companies, consumer groups and academics. That is why it is more likely most sectors agreed on the new policy that US Government would like to carry out to its people.