Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley door pickup 10am - 7pm 3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611

  • Open Daily: 10am - 10pm
    Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm

    3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
    612-822-4611

Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm
3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611
Health Insurance: Comparing Blue Cross and Blue Shield Plans with Commercial Insurers: Hrd-86-110

Health Insurance: Comparing Blue Cross and Blue Shield Plans with Commercial Insurers: Hrd-86-110

U. S. Government Accountability Office (.

Paperback

General Political Science

Publisher Price: $17.75

ISBN10: 1289010277
ISBN13: 9781289010270
Publisher: Bibliogov
Published: Jun 26 2013
Pages: 62
Weight: 0.28
Height: 0.13 Width: 7.44 Depth: 9.69
Language: English
In response to a congressional request, GAO compared the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association health plans' coverage availability for high-risk persons with that of for-profit insurance plans to determine if the Blue Cross/Blue Shield plans' tax-exempt status is warranted.

GAO found that: (1) for 67 percent of the Blue Cross/Blue Shield plans' high-risk cases, there was at least one commercial health plan alternative, but all of the commercial insurers rejected the remaining cases; (2) the commercial insurers and three of the six Blue Cross/Blue Shield plans offered high-risk individuals less comprehensive coverage than other individuals; (3) both Blue Cross/Blue Shield and the commercial insurers experience-rate their large group coverage, which constitutes the majority of their business; (4) the Blue Cross/Blue Shield pricing methods for high-risk individuals resemble those commercial insurers use; (5) Blue Cross/Blue Shield plans operate for-profit businesses on which they pay taxes; and (6) the Blue Cross/Blue Shield plans varied significantly among themselves in underwriting practices. GAO also found that taxing the Blue Cross/Blue Shield plans: (1) should not affect those who are members of large, employer-paid groups; and (2) could adversely affect the individual and small-group markets, particularly those considered to be high-risk, because commercial firms would not underwrite them. GAO was unable to determine the overall effect that changes in the tax-exempt status would have on the availability and affordability of health insurance to high-risk individuals and groups because of a lack of data.

2 different editions

Also available

Also in

General Political Science

View All