In a move it believes will level
the health insurance playing field, the US Department of Health and
Human Services (HHS) has launched an online service that will
enable analyses of health insurers’ product offerings. The HHS’s
objective with its new service is to make the health insurance
market more transparent, increase competition and help lower costs
for individuals. 

In a statement the HHS said: “For
the first time, price estimates for private insurance policies are
available, allowing consumers to easily compare health insurance
plans, putting them, not their insurance companies, in charge by
providing one-stop shopping and taking the guesswork out of buying
insurance.”

Created under the Patient
Protection and Affordable Care Act, which was enacted in March
2010, the online service was l
aunched on 1 October. The
service enables consumers to find information about health
insurance options including:

  • Monthly premium estimates;
  • Cost-sharing information,
    including annual deductibles and out-of-pocket limits;
  • Major categories of services
    covered; and
  • Consumer’s share of cost for these
    services.

Consumers can also search for and
compare information on plans available to them based on their age,
gender, family size, tobacco use and location. 

The website also includes two
notable metrics never before made public. Specifically, insurance
providers are required to: 

  • Provide the%age of people who
    applied for insurance and were denied coverage; and
  • Provide the%age of applicants who
    were charged higher premiums because of their health status.

According to the HHS, 225 insurance
companies provided information about their individual and family
plans for more than 4,400 policies, including policies in every
state and the District of Columbia. 

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According to health care advocacy organisation the Kaiser Family
Trust about 17m Americans buy individual health insurance
coverage.