Sen. Rockefeller, a leading proponent of the public insurance option for health reform, did not provide the actual amount of private insurers’ “medical loss ratios,” the percentage of premiums that go into healthcare, as opposed to administrative fees and profits.
He added that the percentage of premium spent on healthcare is lower than average for the largest for-profit insurance companies and for all insurers in the individual and small group market (businesses with fewer than 50 employees).
Sen. Rockefeller singled out Cigna, saying it had apparently failed to accurately account for as much as $5 billion in premiums for health insurance in the commercial group insurance market in 2008.
Read Sen. Jay Rockefeller’s release on insurers’ medical loss ratios.
