LANSING, Mich., Dec. 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Consumers for Fair and Affordable Insurance Reform (CFAIR) is pleased to announce four major hospital systems, including 41 hospitals, are supporting the need for individual insurance market reform.

In a letter to state legislators, Ken Matzick, President and Chief Executive Officer of Beaumont Hospitals, and several other hospital executives wrote, "The state's current regulatory structure for individual health insurance is in need of significant repair. We are concerned as the individual market continues to grow, Blue Cross and Blue Shield, as the insurer of last resort, will not be able to affordably price health care coverage and will not be able to financially sustain the mounting losses in this market sector, jeopardizing the future of healthcare coverage for thousands of Michigan residents who have nowhere else to turn for coverage. It is critical that market reform also provide vital consumer protections for your constituents and our patients and also help ensure the future viability of healthcare finance in Michigan."

"We've seen the effects of erroneous government assumptions in dealing with sectors of our economy -- all you have to do is look at our banking sector," CFAIR Executive Director John Truscott said. "We have a chance in Michigan to avoid a significant crisis in the future by making some very simple changes to regulations that are 30-years-old. The time to act is now."

The following hospitals have sent letters in support of individual market reform: Beaumont Hospitals, Charlevoix Area Hospitals, Chelsea Community Hospital, Chippewa County War Memorial Hospital, Dickinson County Healthcare System, Marquette General Health Systems, Metro Health Hospital, Michigan Health Ministries of Ascension Health, Portage Health, Trinity Health System, and the University of Michigan Health System.

Consumers for Fair and Affordable Insurance Reform, CFAIR, is a diverse group of Michigan-based health organizations, businesses, unions, consumer advocates and others who support individual health insurance reform in Michigan. Information about individual health insurance reform can be found on their Web site at www.fixhealthinsurance.com

SOURCE Consumers for Fair and Affordable Insurance Reform