Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton said Wednesday that she would give close scrutiny to any proposed consolidation in the already shrinking health insurance industry.
Speaking on a range of healthcare issues, Clinton promised supporters she would “vigorously enforce antitrust laws to scrutinize mergers and ensure they do not harm consumers.” She cited last week’s report from the Kaiser Family Foundation that indicated patient deductibles were rising faster than the current cost of buying health insurance as evidence of the need to further control costs.
The comments come as Congress and the Justice Department continue to evaluate proposed takeovers in the insurance space, including Anthem’s agreement to buy Cigna Corp. for $48 billion and Aetna’s plans to acquire Humana Inc. for $35 billion.
The transactions have been roundly criticized by several government officials and health industry trade associations, though the CEOs of both companies have defended their actions before a panel of lawmakers as acts that would benefit consumers, potentially by lowering costs.
In addition to her comments on industry mergers, Clinton proposed further health reforms that go beyond those enacted in the Affordable Care Act.
The former secretary of state said she would create a process for states that don’t have the authority to block health insurance premium increases in order to stop what she considers “unreasonable” rises in rates.
Insurers would also be required to give patients three sick visits to their doctor per year without asking them to meet their deductible first.
Finally, Clinton proposed a family tax credit worth as much as $5,000 to help Americans pay for out-of-pocket healthcare costs. Individual tax credits, meanwhile, would max out at $2,500.
In order to qualify for the credits, individuals and families would have to spend in excess of 5% of their income on healthcare. The credits would be paid for by “demanding rebates from drug manufacturers and asking the most fortunate to pay their fair share,” according to a statement from the campaign.
“When Americans get sick, high costs shouldn’t prevent them from getting better,” Clinton said. “With deductibles rising so much faster than incomes, we must act to reduce the out-of-pocket costs families face. My plan would take a number of steps to ease the burden of medical expenses and protect healthcare consumers.”
