Rick Snyder: Reinventing Health Care In Michigan
Gov. Rick Snyder is calling for an overhaul in how Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, the state's largest health insurance provider, is regulated.
These specifics of Snyder's plan were provided by the Governor's office:
• Create a nonprofit entity to improve the health of all Michigan residents. The nonprofit will be run by an independent board of directors. It will be funded with about $1.5 billion in
contributions from Blue Cross made over the next 18 years.
• Blue Cross will transition to a nonprofit mutual insurance company that will pay an estimated $100 million a year in additional tax revenue to the state and local governments.
• Protect senior citizens by freezing "Medigap" coverage rates for four years.
• Streamline the regulatory environment by regulating Blue Cross under the state Insurance Code, as is the case with all other health insurance companies.
• Preserve Blue Cross' nonprofit status and mission while maintaining its tremendous contribution to Michigan's economy and investments in the state.
• Eliminate the "tax" currently required on Blue Cross' small-business and individual customers to subsidize other lines of insurance coverage. That tax costs small businesses and individual Blue Cross members more than $200 million a year.
• Ensure that Blue Cross continues as a carrier of last resort until Jan. 1, 2014, at which time new federal laws will require all insurers to offer coverage to anyone regardless of health status.
