Insurance Reform

Insurance 'Reform'Like a faithful old geyser, The Sun seems bent on periodically gushing forth with a call for "insurance reform," with specific attention directed to Baltimore City and other urbanized areas of the state.Regrettably, as usual, the call for reform as articulated in your Jan. 29 editorial reflects little insight as to the problem and its solution (or solutions).The quest of both Gov. Parris Glendening and Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke is a significant reduction in the cost of auto insurance in specified areas of the state.

With last Thursday's vote in the U.S. Senate, health care reform is headed for final passage, although perhaps not for weeks yet. While there are significant differences to be ironed out between the Senate and House, the final version is likely to be neither the robust shake-up that progressives sought nor the ruinous assault on personal freedoms that conservatives have decried. Instead, what Congress is going to produce is a bill that will ensure that millions of Americans who lack insurance now (or are at risk of losing coverage)

Will this be the year of the great auto insurance reform?Don't bet on it. The General Assembly in recent years has repeatedly defeated attempts to abolish "territorial rating" in pricing. Nevertheless, it is both interesting and significant that Gov. Parris N. Glendening chose auto insurance reform as one of his very first initiatives.In a way this is natural. Mr. Glendening's home county, Prince George's, has some of the highest auto insurance rates in Maryland -- after Baltimore City. Since both of those jurisdictions contributed mightily to the governor's slim victory, the least he could do is keep his promise and deal with the auto insurance issue forthwith.

We need a public option The issue of national health insurance reform can be accurately explained in complex detail or simply and conceptually. Either way, economists, experts, business leaders, the AARP and most doctors, nurses, hospitals and American citizens agree - reform legislation must be signed into law this year or the economic consequences will be dire for our country, for businesses and for American families. Additionally, real improvements in quality health care, such as prevention, will only come if there's reform.

The state Senate cleared the way yesterday for passage of a health insurance reform bill by withstanding a determined attack by lawyers against a provision aimed at discouraging medical malpractice suits.The legislation is intended to stabilize insurance costs and make policies more available to employees of small companies, many of whom cannot afford insurance. About 13 percent of Marylanders, or more than 600,000 people, are uninsured.A final vote on the bill is expected today or tomorrow, said Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr., a Prince George's Democrat, who added that prospects for passage are excellent.

LONG-AWAITED federal consumer protections for homeowners with private mortgage insurance almost squeaked through Congress in the closing hours before the Memorial Day recess.But for the second time in six months, the House and the Senate headed home without completely resolving this sticky, contentious and expensive issue.For the large number of homeowners who continue to pay premiums of $700 to $1,000 a year or more for mortgage insurance, here's an update on Capitol Hill's not-quite-ready-for-prime-time reforms:Private mortgage insurance -- as distinct from Federal Housing Administration (FHA)

Legislation that could potentially save motorists hundreds of dollars annually in insurance premiums is sputtering in the General Assembly.Facing vigorous opposition from trial lawyers, doctors and insurance companies, supporters of Gov. Parris N. Glendening's auto insurance reform bill now rate the proposal's chances as iffy -- chiefly because of lukewarm public support.Baltimore drivers long have felt the pinch of insurance rates that can be two or three times higher than those of their suburban and rural counterparts.

With last Thursday's vote in the U.S. Senate, health care reform is headed for final passage, although perhaps not for weeks yet. While there are significant differences to be ironed out between the Senate and House, the final version is likely to be neither the robust shake-up that progressives sought nor the ruinous assault on personal freedoms that conservatives have decried. Instead, what Congress is going to produce is a bill that will ensure that millions of Americans who lack insurance now (or are at risk of losing coverage)

A survey of health insurers covering small employee groups showed that costs per employee increased 3.35 percent last year over 1995, says a report by the state Health Care Access and Cost Commission.Medical costs also increased faster than premiums, growing from 83 percent of premiums to 91.1 percent, the survey found.Because of that, "we expect more premium increases, but how extensive [they will be], we don't know yet," said John M. Colmers, the commission's executive director.The commission was established in 1993 in a state health insurance reform that created a standard benefits package for "small group" policies, those covering between 2 and 50 employees.

The California Supreme Court yesterday upheld an insurance reform measure passed by California voters in 1988 that required insurance companies to roll back auto insurance premiums and gave the state insurance commissioner broad powers to control prices and profits.The ruling clears the way for the commissioner to order insurance companies to refund as much as $1 billion to millions of California auto insurance customers.The court decision, which was unanimous, also affirmed the authority of the commissioner to require the 700 insurance companies operating in the state to obtain approval for rate changes for all property and casualty insurance that includes homeowner policies.

It's not uncommon for the most sensible of proposals to get treated insensibly by the Maryland General Assembly. But lawmakers in Annapolis occasionally get a chance to make amends, and such is the case this year with two motor vehicle proposals, one of which should make streets safer and the other save drivers hundreds of dollars. Let's tackle the savings first. Under legislation offered by Baltimore Sen. Catherine E. Pugh, drivers who purchase their insurance from the Maryland Automobile Insurance Fund would be able to pay their bills in installments instead of paying a full year's worth of coverage in advance.

California proposed regulations yesterday to force insurance brokers and agents to fully disclose their compensation or face stiff fines and the loss of their licenses. The regulations, if approved, would levy fines of up to $10,000 each time a bonus or "contingent" commission wasn't disclosed. Violations also could lead to the revoking of licenses to sell insurance. California insurance regulators also said they planned to file civil lawsuits next week but declined to name the targets or types of insurance involved.

WASHINGTON - Responding to complaints from Tropical Storm Isabel victims about the federal flood insurance program, a U.S. Senate committee recommended yesterday a series of reforms and called for an independent review of the standard flood policy to ensure that it adequately covers losses. The proposed changes in a bill reauthorizing the National Flood Insurance Program are designed to address many of the complaints that have been leveled by Isabel victims from Maryland to North Carolina - that consumers, agents and adjusters didn't understand the program and that settlements were too small to return victims to their homes.

LONG-AWAITED federal consumer protections for homeowners with private mortgage insurance almost squeaked through Congress in the closing hours before the Memorial Day recess.But for the second time in six months, the House and the Senate headed home without completely resolving this sticky, contentious and expensive issue.For the large number of homeowners who continue to pay premiums of $700 to $1,000 a year or more for mortgage insurance, here's an update on Capitol Hill's not-quite-ready-for-prime-time reforms:Private mortgage insurance -- as distinct from Federal Housing Administration (FHA)

A survey of health insurers covering small employee groups showed that costs per employee increased 3.35 percent last year over 1995, says a report by the state Health Care Access and Cost Commission.Medical costs also increased faster than premiums, growing from 83 percent of premiums to 91.1 percent, the survey found.Because of that, "we expect more premium increases, but how extensive [they will be], we don't know yet," said John M. Colmers, the commission's executive director.The commission was established in 1993 in a state health insurance reform that created a standard benefits package for "small group" policies, those covering between 2 and 50 employees.

WASHINGTON -- Moving to correct glaring shortcomings of American health insurance, the Senate voted unanimously yesterday to prevent insurers from dropping workers who get sick, or change or lose jobs.The 100-0 vote advances toward almost certain enactment legislation that would represent the first health insurance reform in decades and one of the leading achievements of the Republican-led Congress.A conference committee will shortly begin meeting to reconcile differences with a House-passed version of the measure to produce a final bill that can be sent to President Clinton, who is eager to sign it into law."

A House committee, determined to put cost-containment teeth in its health insurance reform bill, voted yesterday to impose caps on how much doctors in Maryland may charge for their services and to slap controls on insurance company profits.The limits on fees by physicians and other health care providers would not go into effect until 1996. The delay is designed to give a proposed new Medical Care Data Commission time to collect and analyze information about physician charges, procedures and practices and to develop a fee schedule as part of a report to the governor and General Assembly due by Oct. 1, 1995.

THE GOVERNOR'S auto-insurance bill promised big changes and lower premiums for Maryland drivers. In some cases, the reductions would be quite large, as fraud and double-dipping are eliminated. But that was before vested interests, who profit from inflated car-insurance premiums, had their say before the General Assembly.By the time they were finished, the bill had been picked clean. What remained was a shell of the original measure. It means that car drivers will continue to pay far more in insurance than they should.