Man Dates

Man dates?

No, mandates.

Oh . . .

Lobbyist's and legislators have been busy. In 2007 60 new mandates were added to the books requiring health insurance carriers to cover items that may have previously been excluded or limited.

"Policymakers are increasingly focusing on how to reduce the number of uninsured Americans," stated CAHI Director Dr. Merrill Matthews. "Ironically, these same policymakers continue to pass laws that drive up the cost of coverage and make policies unaffordable for millions of Americans."

What's wrong with this picture?

mandated benefits currently increase the cost of basic health coverage from a little less than 20% to more than 50%, depending on the state and the specific legislative language.

So what kind of new mandates appeared in 2007?

Several states required carriers to cover unmarried dependents up to age 30. So what?

That means your boomerang kid that can't get their life together and is living at home is still covered under your health insurance. It also means you will pay for someone's unmarried daughter to continue to spit out babies.

A few states have expanded the definition of a dependent to include parents and legal aliens.

And the issue of community rating, along with guaranteed issue plans still is threatening to drive the price of health insurance through the roof.

You can view the full report here.

Who knows what is next? Perhaps mandated man dates . . .