SCAHP - South Carolina Alliance of Health Plans

The Facts About Mandates

SCAHP opposes legislation imposing coverage mandates on health insurance plans. 

SCAHP supports market driven policies that result in innovation in cost savings and efficiency, which in turn allows health insurance plans to provide affordable health care coverage and improved services to their customers.

 

Ø      Mandates raise the cost of health insurance – pushing the most basic healthcare out of reach for individuals and their families.

  

Ø      The primary reason almost 40 million Americans are uninsured is the high cost of health care and health care coverage. 

  

Ø      It is estimated that for every one percent increase in healthcare premiums, 300,000 individuals become uninsured.

  

Ø      Between one-fifth and one-quarter of the uninsured population lack coverage as a result of state mandates.

  

Ø      Government mandates accounted for 15 percent of the overall increase in health care premium costs between 2001 and 2002.

  

Ø      Mandates misallocate resources by requiring consumers, or their employers, to spend available funds on benefits that they would otherwise not purchase.  This makes it harder for consumer to obtain the benefits that they do want.