Health insurers owe $19.8 million in rebates in Georgia - Atlanta Business Chronicle

Atlanta Business Chronicle   Date: Thursday, June 21, 2012, 12:08pm EDT

About 244,000 Georgia will get $19.8 million in rebates from health care insurers under a provision of the Affordable Care Act, also known derisively as “ObamaCare.”

The rebates will average $134 per family in Georgia, according to a report from the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services    U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Latest from The Business Journals Follow this company .

The health care law generally requires insurance companies to spend at least 80 percent of consumers’ premium dollars on medical care and quality improvement. Insurers can spend the remaining 20 percent on administrative costs, such as salaries, sales and advertising.

Insurers have to notify customers how much of their premiums are spent on medical care and quality improvements, and companies that do not meet the 80/20 standard must provide a rebate to policyholders by Aug. 1. Insurers can send a rebate check through the mail, make a lump-sum reimbursement to the account that was used to pay the premium if it was paid by credit or debit card, or reduce future premiums. Employers who paid for health care insurance can also take those steps, or apply the rebate in a way that benefits employees, HHS said.

Across the U.S., insurers owe $1.1 billion in rebates to 12.8 million consumers, an average of $151 per family, HHS said.

The 80/20 Rule: Providing Value and Rebates to Millions of Consumers | HealthCare.gov