More than 8.5 million health insurance consumers will get the benefit of over $500 million in rebates under the medical loss ratio (MLR) requirement of the Affordable Care Act, the Department of Health and Human Services said in a report June 20.

The rebates, which must be paid by individual and small group plans that do not spend at least 80 percent of premiums on medical claims or quality improvements and by large group plans that do not pay at least 85 percent, are based on 2012 data, and will average about $100 per family, HHS said.  The rebates are less than half the $1.1 billion in rebates paid for 2011 because more insurers are meeting the MLR standard, HHS officials said in a press call.

HHS said in the report that 77.8 million consumers saved $3.4 billion in addition "up-front" premium savings as a result of the MLR. But Gary Cohen, the director of the Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight, said other factors may account for the premium savings as well, including rate reviews authorized under ACA and more competitive markets fostered by the online marketplaces being created under the law.