Political Quotes

“Mr. Chairman, this is a very important question. It is not something which is arcane. Attained age rating, which this amendment would compel to be not used, permits an insurer to raise his rates on a policy solely on the basis of a policyholder's age. Some States have sought to place limitations on this practice, and a number of States have already banned that outright, or have community rating. In all of the States where this has been done, there remains plenty of competition for good Medigap products. Attained age rating removes the ability of consumers to meaningfully compare different premiums: Hence, this is a practice which undermines the major objective of the 1990 reforms, to standardize policies. Second, attained age rating can cost consumers thousands of dollars more over the long run than a fairly nicely priced product because it allows insurers to play games with premiums that are hard for regulators to control or consumers to make an intelligent judgment on. Third, attained age rating is forcing good insurers who want to use community rating to move away from that method of rating.”