HMO CONSUMER GUIDE

House Bill 5572

Sponsor: Rep. Gary Woronchak

Committee: Health Policy

Complete to 4-13-00

A SUMMARY OF HOUSE BILL 5572 AS INTRODUCED 4-12-00

The bill would amend the Insurance Code to require the insurance commissioner to prepare an annual consumer guide to health maintenance organizations (HMOs) that would be available to the public upon request and through the Internet. Beginning January 1, 2001, an annual consumer guide, written in plain English, that would facilitate comparisons among individual HMOs would have to be published. If the commissioner requested, information regarding quality of care indices that were needed to prepare the annual guide would have to be provided in a timely manner by an HMO and the Department of Community Health.

The consumer guide to HMOs would have to include the following information for the most recent year that the information was available:

1. The national accreditation status of each HMO.


2. Indices of the quality of care provided by each HMO. This would have to include the rates of mammography, prostate, and cervical cancer screening, along with any other indices the commissioner required.


3. The toll-free telephone number for the Office of Financial and Insurance Services that consumers could call to request copies of the annual consumer guide and make inquiries or complaints about HMOs.

MCL 500.3580

Analyst: S. Stutzky