Joel Ario Interviewed on Health Insurance Price Wars
"Where You Live Determines How Much You Pay for Health Insurance"
Kaiser Health News
September 29, 2013 - Manatt's Joel Ario, a managing director with Manatt Health Solutions, was interviewed by Kaiser Health News on how locations matter when buying health insurance.
Kaiser Health News reports that in more than half a dozen states such as Pennsylvania consumers in some cities will pay at least 50 percent more for the same type of coverage than their friends and relatives in other parts of the state. For example, a 40-year-old in Philadelphia will spend $300 a month to buy a mid-level insurance plan in the new online marketplace, which is 77 percent more than a 40-year-old in Pittsburgh, where the same type of coverage will cost a more modest $169 a month.
"There is something of a price war right now" in Pittsburgh between insurer Highmark and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, which also has its own insurance plan, said Ario. "They've got the ideal situation, with competing insurers and competing hospital systems."
Read the article here.