Guam - In less than three weeks, two health insurance companies will be giving out $15 million in rebates.  The bulk of that money will go to the Government of Guam while the remainder will be divvied up among the private sector and returned to employers and subscribers. When the Patient Affordability Care Act became law, local health insurance companies estimated how much it would cost to implement its mandates. 

For those insurance carriers that didn't meet 85% of the medical costs, the law provides for the money to go back to subscribers. Rev & Tax director John Camacho said, "Whatever premiums received by insurance companies if they don't meet that 85% amount of medical cost, and usually the other would be the regaining cost the administrative costs should be 15%. If they don't meet that 85% what they don't meet would have to be returned back to the subscribes and the employers."

Camacho says the island's four insurance companies submitted the necessary reports and SelectCare and Staywell will be paying rebates while TakeCare and Netcare didn't meet the medical costs threshold to require any rebates. A total of $15 million will be rebated to employers and subscribers of health insurance.

SelectCare will be paying $11.9 million. "There's an estimation of $8 million going to the government and the remainder going to the private sector," he said.

Camacho couldn't say how much subscribers can expect to get.  For GovGuam workers, the Department of Administration has to calculate the employer and government shares.  He says the rebate amount is based on the premiums paid, saying, "So if the premiums paid is for example $60 million for 2011 and whatever the portion for the employees over that is a is a percentage times the $8 million and vice versa whatever the percentage paid by the government over the total premiums paid times the rebate amount estimate of $8 million will be the share for the employees and the government," he said.

The law requires that insurance providers pay the rebates by August 1. Regulatory program administrator John Carlos said, "Each subscriber will get a notice from the insurance company that they may be or may not be getting a rebate."