Posted by Sen. Reid's Staff  on 11/29/2010 - 5:33 PM

In the past week the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced a new requirement that insurance companies spend 80 to 85 percent of premiums on health care and improvements to care quality. This new rule will ensure that the money Nevadans spend on health care for their families will go towards improving care rather than into the pockets of executives and to fund marketing efforts.

In the past, insurance companies have been able to spend as much as 50 percent of premiums on executive salaries, bonuses, marketing, and advertising. With the new regulations from HHS, these premiums will stop going towards profit and begin improving health care for hard working families in Nevada and across the nation. Insurance companies that fail to spend 80 to 85 percent of premiums on improving health care for their customers by 2012 will be required to pay rebates for not following the guidelines.

Senator Reid knows how hard Nevadans are working to provide access to quality health care for their families and he wants to make sure that they are getting their money’s worth from their health insurance. This is another step in the right direction to ensuring that every American has access to health care that is both affordable and the highest quality possible.

Read a letter by HHS Secretary Sebelius at HERE, and for more information see the Las Vegas Sun’s coverage HERE.

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