FULTON, Mo. (AP) -- U.S. Rep. Roy Blunt said Friday that he opposes efforts to end the insurance industry practice of charging higher rates to unhealthier groups of people.
Blunt, the Republican front-runner in Missouri's 2010 Senate race, voted against a health insurance bill passed last week by the Democratic-controlled House because he says it's too costly and expands government-run health care.
Included in the nearly 2,000-page bill are sections prohibiting insurers from adjusting rates based on any factors other than age, family size or geographical areas. That would prohibit insurers from raising or lowering rates depending on the gender or health status of the group of employees being insured -- currently a common practice in many states.
Blunt says he opposes the elimination of health rating variances.
"When you look at health status, there are different ways than forcing every insurance company to take every unhealthy person that applies for insurance," Blunt said in an interview.
"The better way to do that is expand the risk pool concept so that it works better for everybody," Blunt added. High-risk plans in many states provide insurance to people unable to get affordable coverage through the traditional market.
Some supporters of the House bill hope that by eliminating health status as a rating factor insurance will be more affordable to small businesses that have an employee with cancer or some other costly medical condition. But health industry analysts have noted that some small group insurance plans with healthy employees could see their rates rise because they no longer would get a discount.
Democratic Senate candidate State Robin Carnahan, who is secretary of state, has declined to specifically say whether she would have voted for the House legislation. Earlier this week, Carnahan said she was excited about the health care debate and called the House vote an important first step. But Carnahan also said she also was a little concerned about whether the House bill does enough to make insurance affordable.
Blunt said Friday that he does support some provisions in the legislation. As an example, he cited a requirement that insurers allow parents to keep dependent children on their health insurance plans until they turn age 27. Blunt had sponsored a bill that would have set that age at 25. Those cutoff ages currently vary by state.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
