COLUMBUS
It was announced today through the Ohio Association of Health Plans (OAHP) that Ohioans should experience heftier health care premiums accompanied by less robust benefits. This is expected to occur if the current comprehensive health care reform proposals being considered by Congress as part of new legislation, are to pass into law.

They claim that in the event that the reforms being proposed through the Senate Finance Committee were to be enacted, the are reporting that average claims per health plan member in the state of Ohio would be increased by 60 percent during the next five years in regard to the individual health care market and an increase in expense of 24 percent with respect to the small group market. This is based on data collected by the Kaiser Family Foundation, in addition to America's Health Insurance Plans and WellPoint.

Regarding the increase in premiums for the individual market in Ohio they would amount to 49 percent during a period of ten years and in regards to the small group market, 28 percent over the next ten years.

The reform proposal for health care being debated and voted on by the House before the Senate bill, would over ten years, strip $170 billion from Medicare it is projected. As regards the close to 500,000 Ohio seniors who rely on Medicare Advantage plans, this would have a catastrophic effect on their ability to receive their health care.

These proposed reductions to the Medicare Advantage program will probably amount to fewer benefits as well as having to manage higher out of pocket costs, while at the same time there are most likely many seniors who might be at risk of losing all of their coverage.

The president and CEO of OAHP Kelly McGivern, says that the state’s political leaders in Washington have promised that health care reform will make health care more affordable for everyone and that those who are satisfied with their present health care coverage would be allowed to keep it. But that the proposals coming out of Congress represent broken promises on contrast to this.

The recent studies that are being made available are showing that Recent research has shown that for health care as regards Ohioians, the cost of care will become even more expensive. This is soon to be the direct result of the current legislation that is not incorporating a functional individual mandate and that furthermore will require excise taxes to be passed on to premiums in addition to taxing in the form of taxes for high-value health plans along with shifts in costs resulting from significant cuts to Medicare Advantage.
In a recent actuarial analysis that was carried out by WellPoint, an organization with a major presence in Ohio, premium increases are estimated to reach 122 percent for individuals of average age and heath.

McGivern adds that from the commencement of the health care reform debate, Ohio health plans have sat on the side of reform. It is accepted that health care costs are too high and that everyone needs coverage and that it is necessary that action be taken to improve health care quality. But she adds that unfortunately, the proposals being considered by Congress are not designed to make health care more affordable, especially for those working families and individuals living in Ohio, and that in addition, they may very well take away coverage from thousands of seniors throughout the state.

The U.S. House of Representatives voted on its version of health care reform legislation this weekend and passed it by a small margin. The U.S. Senate will only act after it receives a fiscal estimate being performed by the Congressional Budget Office. Only then does it intend to unveil its completed version of health care reform legislation.