GA consumers hope law will provide cheaper health insurance

Georgia insurers will soon be able to offer stripped-down health insurance policies to people who don't get coverage at work, under a new state law authorizing the sale of health plans approved by other states. Supporters say the new law will offer Georgians in the costly individual market -- typically the self-employed -- more choices and cheaper coverage. But opponents say it will have little impact on price and could lead consumers to buy policies with inadequate coverages. The new law has implications for 350,000 Georgians who purchase health insurance through the individual market, and for the 1.9 million Georgians with no insurance coverage at all. Unaffected are Georgians who buy health insurance through an employer or who receive government healthcare.