Low health insurance caps are source of debate

A combination of increasing health care costs and the fact that individual insurance caps typically do not adjust for inflation has meant more patients are using up their lifetime allotment of insurance. Congress is now considering two bills that would address the issue(Source: “Low health insurance caps leave patients stranded,” Marion Star/AP, July 14, 2008).

According to research from the Kaiser Family Foundation, 22 percent of employer-offered group plans have lifetime caps of less than $2 million.

Insurers argue that regulation of insurance caps could lead to higher coverage costs, and low lifetime caps help them offer a greater variety of coverage. They say the solution to the problem is to curb health care costs.