Over the past decade, numerous states have launched “insurance reforms” with some significant and unexpectedly negative--albeit unintended--consequences, according to a new report. A number of these initiatives were repealed or significantly changed within a few years of implementation. The study by Milliman, Inc. on behalf of America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) examined eight states that enacted various forms of “guarantee issue” and “community rating” in the 1990s, including Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Vermont, and Washington.
Overall, the report found that states that implemented guarantee issue and community rating saw a rise in insurance premiums, a reduction of individual insurance enrollment, and an exodus of health insurers from the individual insurance market. In addition, the report found no significant decrease in the uninsured population in states that implemented these initiatives. Download the report.
