About the Medical Loss Ratio
The Affordable Care Act requires health insurance issuers to submit data on the proportion of premium revenues spent on clinical services and quality improvement, also known as the Medical Loss Ratio (MLR). It also requires them to issue rebates to enrollees if this percentage does not meet minimum standards. MLR requires insurance companies to spend at least 80% or 85% of premium dollars on medical care, with the review provisions imposing tighter limits on health insurance rate increases. If they fail to meet these standards, the insurance companies are required to provide a rebate to their customers starting in 2012.
Update: Insurers must submit a report each year to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) showing how much the insurer spent on health care and activities that improve care in the past year. Each year's report is due by July 31 of the following year. For example, an insurer must submit its yearly report for 2016 by July 31, 2017.
Each insurer’s Medical Loss Ratio information is provided separately for each state and, within each state, by market (individual, small group and large group markets). It is not provided by a particular plan, product, or policy.