On Monday, HHS announced $46 million in grants to 45 states and the District of Columbia to improve oversight of health insurance premium increases, Modern Healthcare reports (Vesely, Modern Healthcare, 8/16).
Many states plan to use the funding to upgrade existing technology or develop new tools to hold insurance companies accountable for premium changes (Holmes, NextGov, 8/16).
Grant Program Details
The funding was made available through the federal health reform law, which allocated $250 million to states over five years for insurance monitoring purposes. States applied for the funding earlier this summer. Each eligible applicant received a $1 million grant (Modern Healthcare, 8/16).
Alaska, Georgia, Iowa, Minnesota and Wyoming did not apply for the funding (Levey, Los Angeles Times, 8/17).
Tapping Technology To Review Rates
According to an HHS release, technology will be a major factor in how states apportion the grant funding because all states are looking to upgrade existing technology, streamline data sharing and publicize information on health insurance rate changes. For example:
Florida plans to develop a search tool that consumers can use to find premium increases online;
Illinois intends to post insurance premium filings online and develop interactive applications that residents can use to browse insurance data in various languages (NextGov, 8/16); and
California aims to streamline its collection of data on health insurance rate increases (Los Angeles Times, 8/17).
