Rate Review & the 80/20 Rule (2024)

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Rate Review & the 80/20 Rule

The health care law provides 2 ways to hold insurance companies accountable and help keep your costs down: Rate Review and the 80/20 rule.

Rate Review

Rate Review helps protect you from unreasonable rate increases. Insurance companies must now publicly explain any rate increase of 15% or more before raising your premium. This does not apply to grandfathered plans.

80/20 Rule

The 80/20 Rule generally requires insurance companies to spend at least 80% of the money they take in from premiums on health care costs and quality improvement activities. The other 20% can go to administrative, overhead, and marketing costs.

The 80/20 rule is sometimes known as Medical Loss Ratio, or MLR. If an insurance company uses 80 cents out of every premium dollar to pay for your medical claims and activities that improve the quality of care, the company has a Medical Loss Ratio of 80%.

Insurance companies selling to large groups (usually more than 50 employees) must spend at least 85% of premiums on care and quality improvement.

If your insurance company doesn’t meet these requirements, you’ll get a rebate on part of the premium that you paid.

Will I get a rebate check from my insurance company?

If your insurance company doesn’t meet its 80/20 targets for the year, you’ll get back some of the premium that you paid.

You may see the rebate in a number of ways:

  • A rebate check in the mail
  • A lump-sum deposit into the same account that was used to pay the premium, if you paid by credit card or debit card
  • A direct reduction in your future premium
  • Your employer may also use one of the above rebate methods, or apply the rebate in a way that benefits employees

If you or your employer will get a rebate, your insurance company must notify you by August 1.

If you have an individual insurance policy, you’ll get the rebate directly from your insurance company.

For small group and large group plans, the rebate is usually paid to the employer. It may use one of the above rebate methods, or apply the rebate in a way that benefits employees.

FYI: The 80/20 rebate rules don’t apply when an insurance company has fewer than 1000 enrollees in a particular state or market.

Does this apply to my plan?

It depends.

For Rate Review: These requirements don’t apply to grandfathered plans. Check your plan’s materials or ask your employer or your benefits administrator to find out if your health plan is grandfathered.

For the 80/20 Rule: These rights apply to all individual, small group, and large group health plans, whether your plan is grandfathered or not.

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Rate Review & the 80/20 Rule (2024)

FAQs

Rate Review & the 80/20 Rule? ›

The 80/20 Rule generally requires insurance companies to spend at least 80% of the money they take in from premiums on health care costs and quality improvement activities.

What is the 80/20 medicare rule? ›

Chief among these proposals was a new rule that would require HCBS agencies to spend at least 80% of their Medicaid payments for homemaker, home health aide, and personal care services on direct care worker compensation (the “80/20 Rule”).

What does 80/20 mean with medical insurance? ›

What does 80/20 coinsurance mean? Simply put, 80/20 coinsurance means your insurance company pays 80% of the total bill, and you pay the other 20%. Remember, this applies after you've paid your deductible.

What does having 80/20 coverage mean in Ramsey? ›

It's a way to split the costs of health care with your insurance carrier. On most policies, coinsurance is usually a fraction—like 80/20 or 70/30. So if your plan says 80/20, your insurer will handle 80% of the costs, and you'll take care of the other 20%—but only after you've hit your deductible for the year.

What is rate setting in insurance? ›

Rate making, or insurance pricing, is the determination of rates charged by insurance companies. The benefit of rate making is to ensure insurance companies are setting fair and adequate premiums given the competitive nature.

What does the 80/20 rule mean as it relates to denials? ›

Those 20 percent produce 80 percent of your results. Identify and focus on those things. Don't just "work smart," work smart on the right things. It applies to denials management as follows: The insurance companies you bill most, the top 20 percent of your payers, are likely to contribute 80% of all insurance revenue.

What is the 80/20 method? ›

The Pareto principle (also known as the 80/20 rule) is a phenomenon that states that roughly 80% of outcomes come from 20% of causes.

How to calculate 80 20 rule for insurance? ›

The 80/20 Rule generally requires insurance companies to spend at least 80% of the money they take in from premiums on health care costs and quality improvement activities. The other 20% can go to administrative, overhead, and marketing costs. The 80/20 rule is sometimes known as Medical Loss Ratio, or MLR.

What will it take to shift the 80 20 rule for healthcare? ›

Doing so will require a combination of healthier lifestyle adoption and incentivization, improved access and adherence to medication therapies for chronically ill patients and higher levels of physician reimbursem*nt for preventative services to name a few.

What is the 80 20 rule for health? ›

The 80/20 rule is a guide for your everyday diet—eat nutritious foods 80 percent of the time and have a serving of your favorite treat with the other 20 percent. For the “80 percent” part of the plan, focus on drinking lots of water and eating nutritious foods that include: Whole grains. Fruits and vegetables.

Which is better, 70/30 or 80/20 health insurance? ›

Base PPO Plan (70/30): This plan has lower premiums in exchange for higher copays, coinsurance and deductibles. Enhanced PPO Plan (80/20): This plan has higher premiums than the 70/30 Plan in exchange for lower copays, coinsurance and deductibles.

What is the term for this plan if an insurance plan is 80 20? ›

Many people have plans with an 80/20 coinsurance policy, meaning your health insurance provider pays 80% of the medical expense, and you cover the other 20%.

What insurance company does Dave Ramsey recommend? ›

Zander Insurance | Endorsed By Dave Ramsey | Official Site.

What is a rate review? ›

Rate review helps protect people from insurance companies unjustly increasing rates on premiums. It enables state insurance departments to review premium increases charged by health insurance companies that sell plans in the state.

What is the 80% rule in insurance? ›

When it comes to insuring your home, the 80% rule is an important guideline to keep in mind. This rule suggests you should insure your home for at least 80% of its total replacement cost to avoid penalties for being underinsured.

How does an 80/20 insurance plan work? ›

You have an “80/20” plan. That means your insurance company pays for 80 percent of your costs after you've met your deductible. You pay for 20 percent. Coinsurance is different and separate from any copayment.

What is the 80 20 split for Medicare? ›

The 80/20 Rule generally requires insurance companies to spend at least 80% of the money they take in from premiums on health care costs and quality improvement activities. The other 20% can go to administrative, overhead, and marketing costs. The 80/20 rule is sometimes known as Medical Loss Ratio, or MLR.

Is Medicare an 80/20 plan? ›

Medicare Part B pays 80% of the cost for most outpatient care and services, and you pay 20%. For 2024, the standard monthly Part B premium is $174.70.

What income requires higher Medicare premiums? ›

In 2023, individuals who earned more than $97,000 annually will have higher monthly premiums for some of their Medicare coverage. Married people filing jointly that made over $194,000 will also pay more in their premiums. The income limits change each year.

Does Medicare cover 100% of hospital bills? ›

Does Medicare Part A Cover 100 Percent? For a qualifying inpatient stay, Medicare Part A covers 100 percent of hospital-specific costs for the first 60 days of the stay — after you pay the deductible for that benefit period.

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