WASHINGTON — Top health insurance companies told members of Congress on Wednesday that more than 80 percent of people who have signed up under the president's new health care law have gone on to pay their premiums, a necessary step for the enrollment figures touted by the Obama administration to hold up.
Aetna reported payment rates in "the low- to mid-80 percent range;" Wellpoint said the rate was as high as 90 percent for those whose premium had come due; the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association said 80 to 85 percent; and the Health Care Service Corp., which sells BlueCross BlueShield plans in five states, pegged the rate at 83 percent or above. The figures were in line with what individual insurers have said on earnings calls with analysts and elsewhere in recent weeks.
Democrats seized on the figures disclosed at a House hearing as the latest sign that the health care law has defied its critics and is working.
Republicans said plenty more questions remained, including whether rates will rise next year and by how much, and how many of those covered were previously uninsured.