October 2013: Health Has Lots of Moving Parts – Part II

Will Obamacare increase or decrease the average cost of an insurance policy on the individual market? Ending discrimination against sick people raises premiums for the healthy but lowers them for the sick. Reducing discrimination against old people raises premiums for the young but reduces them for the old. Regulating insurance products raises prices at the low-end of the insurance market but cuts costs for people who actually get sick and need insurance that actually covers illnesses. Unlike the US, Puerto Rico does not have a trillion dollars in subsidies to cut costs for the poor. Unlike the US, Puerto Rico does not have an Exchange to encourage competition between insurers and hence, reduce costs. Unlike the US, Puerto Rico does not have either an individual mandate nor an employer mandate to help reduce average premiums by bringing younger, healthier applicants into the market yet PR’s Insurance Code mandates essential benefits in health care plans. Find out some of the sobering implications of the Affordable Care Act of 2010 for MiSalud, Medicare Advantage, individuals, and employers in Puerto Rico.