Yes, We Will!
While it might have seemed that health insurance companies were actively fighting the new health reform legislation, and that they stood to benefit by the failure of reform, they are now getting on board by agreeing to do their best to make the plans work. And despite what many critics say, this is not a government run health insurance plan. It is still a plan which relies upon private health insurance companies.
The plan just requires health insurance companies to accept children with pre-existing conditions right away, expands state high risk programs for everybody, and then moves towards getting insurers to accept adults with pre-existing conditions. In addition, tax credits will help more people afford health insurance.
Get more details on health reform changes here.
Size of The Risk Pool
To be fair, the insurers have a point. If they have to cover everybody in the future, premiums could rise as they need to cover themselves against a higher risk pool. On the other hand, everybody agrees that a larger pool of people being insured could offset this. If a healthy 30 year old will be mandated to purchase major medical, he or she could offset the risk of a less healthy 60 year old. And that healthy 30 year old could still need coverage in case of an accident.
This will not work if people figure they will wait to purchase a policy after they get sick. That is why the purchase must be mandated. Insurance companies need a large pool of people in order to spread the risk and keep premiums from spiking.
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