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America's Health Insurance Plans CEO Karen Ignagni explains what health insurers want from the Supreme Court.
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Well now back to the Supreme Court decision this morning arguments were focused on whether president Obama's health care law.
-- survived without the individual mandate that mandate would force people to buy insurance the CEO president.
Health insurance plans an industry lodging group Karen -- he joins me downturn insurers worry.
But -- a lot allowed to stand without the individual mandate it just won't work why is that.
Because Cheryl what is most important is experience.
Trumps any kind of study that can be done and in every state.
That tried market reforms without having everyone in the market pretty much blew up.
And so what is very important is the linkage between.
Making the market reforms work and having everyone participate.
You need the younger healthier people in a pool so that that offsets the costs of the older and sicker and that's how insurance fundamentally works loss of.
So it doesn't address the cost issue but is about one of the unfair advantages that we have right now is that.
The younger generation is gonna be paying for the holder generation is -- that but that's the argument has been going -- for decades now.
Well you know that's a very important point that's why as we began working on health reform we said there are three fundamental principles.
If you want to have market reforms we need people to participate so that.
Reduces the cost.
For everyone otherwise is just the older in the sicker in the cost spiral out of control but at the same time we said you also have to have cost containment.
What our industry has been doing -- market leaders now.
Out there on new delivery arrangements that are beginning to show real promise and you focused on quite a number of those and you'll hear much more about that we're very excited about that.
That will be married with.
Making what ever happens whenever the Supreme Court decides works.
But it -- that's a cost issue this goes back to why we ended up with a health care along the first place is because the administration.
Congress frankly Americans said look you know enough with rising health care -- none of that has stopped the rise of health care costs over the last two years I'm not -- -- I'm not sure I understand here.
If we got nothing -- health insurance costs would continue gulp it wouldn't we rather have something.
Wouldn't your industry in particular rather have something rather than nothing you're telling me you want to just throw the whole thing out if indeed this mandate issue goes against GO.
But know what actually talking.
I'm actually talking to you about work ability so if you have market reforms and people want those kinds of protections than what does it take to make those work.
And we have to look at the states a number of states did exactly that they tried market reforms not without having everyone participate.
Everyone left the market on the market the costs spiraled out of control in the states had to repeal those loss.
So if we want to have market reforms and there are certain things that have to work that you're asking about cost containment.
And our industry is out working with providers and clinicians to.
Reinvent delivery models and you've focused on quite a number of them and you continue to do so and there's a lot of very encouraging news.
But this bill wasn't about cost containment and that's a whole other discussion hole in the show it was about.
Insurance reform and to make insurance market reforms work you have to have everyone -- or else they don't work and that's the position we've taken before the Supreme Court.
They cost control is not being addressed -- continues to be your position and under understandably so care.
-- not yet America's Health Insurance Plans CEO pres.
