$149M in health-insurance rebates for Florida residents
Floridians can expect to receive $149 million in health-insurance rebates this year from more than a dozen insurance companies, according to a report from the Kaiser Family Foundation released Thursday.
The rebates come from health insurers that spent more on administrative expenses and profits than allowed under health-care overhaul laws that took effect last year.
Nationally, consumers and businesses will receive $1.3 billion back, according the report based on preliminary estimates.
In the Sunshine State, 1.75 million enrollees will divvy up the rebates. Among those who pay for their own health insurance without the help of an employer, 38 percent should get some money back, an average of $153 per covered member, according to the Kaiser analysis.
That means, in a family of four where everyone is covered, the rebate could exceed $600, said Gary Claxton, co-author of the Kaiser report.
Among the Florida insurers expected to owe the most are Humana Health, Connecticut General, Coventry Health and Time Insurance, according to data provided to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.
Consumers don't need to take any action to get what's due them. The insurance companies must tell them by Aug. 1 if they will receive a rebate and how much. The insurance companies must issue the rebates that month, either as a check or a credit on future premiums, said Claxton.
In cases where individuals get insurance through their employers, the company is required to pass the savings benefit on to employees. In these cases, the rebates in Florida range from $44 per enrollee (the average rebate to members of plans for companies with at least 51 employees) to $99 (the average for members belonging to small-group plans).
How much employees will actually see is hard to determine, said Claxton. They may not see any because how employers pass the benefit along to their employees can be broadly interpreted.
"It may not come as a lump sum, but rather as a wellness day," he said.
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