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Health insurers must explain child policies by Kentucky Commissioner

Kentucky Insurance Commissioner, Sharon Clark, issued an order that will require major health insurers or policy providers, including Humana and Anthem, to explain and defend their decisions to stop offering new child-only policies. According to Clark, there is deep concern about the effect on Kentucky by health insurers' new policies to stop selling child-only plans, particularly because Kentucky's state budget would not be able to provide coverage for all children in need of health insurance. It seems some insurers or health insurance corporations have stopped selling child-only plans to remain competitive with other insurers, and to avoid driving up premiums that could lead to losing current or potential new customers, which appear to be measures of maintaining company profits.

According to Obama administration officials, child-only health insurance policy plans represent a small share of the individual market nationwide, with between 100,000 & 700,000 children covered. According to Louisville-based Humana, one of Kentucky's two largest health insurers, Humana has 1 million members paying for health insurance coverage in Kentucky and Indiana, which include 1,200 with child-only policies.  We hope that the Kentucky Insurance Commissioner will be successful in getting answers from insurers and perhaps help change their minds regarding insurers' decision to stop selling these types of child-only health policy plans. Injured children or sick children need medical treatment, and should not be shut out by large insurance companies. The alternative can result in disaster for the Commonwealth of Kentucky, that is, it seems unfair to make Kentucky's state budget and its citizens suffer potentially "disastrous" effects in exchange for the already profitable health insurers and insurance companies making a little bit more money at the expense of the public.

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