Health insurer rebate exemptions would cost WI consumers

The request by the Wisconsin's insurance commissioner to exempt health insurers from having to spend 80% of premiums on medical care could cost consumers an estimated $14 million over three years. That works out to a savings of 1% or less of what consumers who buy their own insurance would spend in that time period. Insurance Commissioner Ted Nickel asked the federal government to exempt health insurers who sold insurance to individuals and families from the new federal regulation, contending that it could force companies to exit the market. The regulation, part of federal healthcare reform, requires health insurers to spend 80 cents of every dollar in premiums on medical care or pay rebates to consumers. Some 180,000 people in Wisconsin buy insurance on their own.