{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://cartwright.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/the-affordable-care-act-is-making-sure-premium-dollars-work-for", "The Affordable Care Act Is Making Sure Premium Dollars Work for Consumers, Not Just Insurance Companies", "2013-12-16", "2013", "2013-12", "Democrat", "House", "PA", "Matt Cartwright", "C001090", "cartwright.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Scranton, PA \u2013\u00a0Today, U.S. Representative Matt Cartwright highlighted the tough new rules under the Affordable Care Act that ensure that Americans receive value for their premium dollars. \u00a0If insurance companies don\u2019t live up to the new standards established by the ACA, insurers have to send consumers a rebate. In 2013, approximately 123,600 consumers in Pennsylvania received an average rebate of approximately $77 per family.\n\u201cHelping middle class families take advantage of the benefits of the health care law like making sure Pennsylvanians\u2019 premium dollars work for them and not just insurance companies should be a top priority for lawmakers in Washington,\u201d said Cartwright\nBecause of the health care law, insurance companies must spend at least 80% (85% in the large group market) of premiums on medical care and efforts to improve the quality of care, instead of things like overhead and profits. If they don\u2019t, insurers have to send consumers a rebate to meet this threshold. In 2012, nearly 80 million consumers saved $3.4 billion upfront on their premiums because of this rule and other Affordable Care Act programs. And because of this rule, insurers sent 8.5 million consumers an average rebate of approximately $100 per family this year.\nAdditionally, while insurance companies still set premium rates today, the health care law requires insurance companies to publicly post and justify any proposed rate increase of 10 percent or more. \u00a0Across the country, insurers are withdrawing or decreasing proposed rate hikes, benefitting\u00a0families as well the economy.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["http://cartwright.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/the-affordable-care-act-is-making-sure-premium-dollars-work-for"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.2280461378395557, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}