HHS announced on June 21, 2012 that health insurers will pay a total of $1.1 billion in rebates this summer under the ACA’s MLR provision. Under this provision, insurers were required to spend at least 80% of total premium dollars collected on medical care and quality improvement in 2011 or pay rebates to their customers by August 1, 2012. Rebates will be provided to consumers either through: a rebate check in the mail; reimbursement to the credit card or debit card used to pay the premium; or a reduction in future premiums (with special rules for rebates associated with employer-provided policies).
