Maryland planning next five years of reinsurance program in effort to keep consumers’ rates lower

Maryland state officials and health insurers are reviewing how to run and fund a program that aims to keep individual health insurance premiums low. The state-operated reinsurance program — a special fund through which insurers are reimbursed for a portion of the costs of patients requiring the most expensive care — was recently reapproved by the federal government. By helping to offset the most expensive insurance claims, premiums stay lower for the wider insurance pool, and Maryland was one of the first states to implement such a program.