Health insurance companies must return a total of $30 million to nearly 600,000 customers across Maryland, the District and Virginia under provisions of the 2010 federal health care law, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services .
Nationwide, insurers owe a total of $504 million in rebates to 8.5 million customers — a sharp decline from 2011, when insurers had to return $1.1 billion to 13 million customers the first year the law was in effect. The decline in rebates reflects the to comply with a new law.
The Affordable Care Act restricts the amount of nonmedical or purely administrative spending by insurers, ordering them to spend at least 80 percent of individual-market premium revenue on medical claims and at least 85 percent of revenue in the group market. They must refund money to customers if they exceed those limits.
On a per-family basis, the 149,961 eligible Maryland consumers are getting some of the country’s largest refunds, an average of $143, above the national average of $98.
In Virginia, 235,974 consumers will get an average of $88 per family, and 210,233 District consumers will receive an average of $53. All three local figures are substantially lower than last year. Here’s a , broken down by market size.
Generally, consumers will not receive the rebates directly. Most rebates work as credits to current premiums or go to employers that pay workers’ premiums.
