Controlling How Insurers Spend Their Money

The latest version of the Senate reform bill contains a provision that requires insurance companies to spend 80 percent of their revenues on actually providing health care for their customers. Democrats view this as a cost control mechanism. The House bill has the same provision except set at 85 percent. (Anybody see a compromise position here?). The House bill keeps the restriction on only until the insurance exchanges become active in 2013; the Senate bill keeps them in place indefinitely. Read more from Kaiser Health News here.