Insurers offer concession on premiums
WASHINGTON - The health insurance industry offered yesterday to end its practice of charging higher premiums to women if all Americans are required to get coverage, its latest concession as it tries to head off creation of a government insurance plan that would directly compete with private insurers.
Health insurers have offered to submit to a series of restrictions they contend would add up to a fairer marketplace and cut into the ranks of the 50 million uninsured. Last year, insurers offered to end the practice of denying coverage to sick people, and earlier this year they went still farther by offering to stop charging sick people more.
Yesterday, Karen Ignagni, president of America's Health Insurance Plans, told the Senate Finance Committee women, whose healthcare costs tend to be higher during childbearing years, should no longer be charged more than men in the individual market.
The industry concessions aren't enough for many Democrats, who see the public plan as already a compromise because their real preference is for a "single-payer" plan - an entirely government-run program like some European countries have.
Others, including President Obama, say single-payer is not practical or politically feasible. They want to build on the current setup of employer-based care, which is how most Americans under age 65 get their healthcare.
