Federal Regulations Weren’t The Reason Insurers Shied Away From Selling Over State Lines, Health Companies Say
CMS wants to make it easier for insurers to sell across state lines, but those companies say it's not regulations that are stopping them. "These states have each taken a different approach, none of which has, to date, resulted in insurers offering comprehensive health insurance in a state in which it is not licensed," the National Association of Insurance Commissioners said in a comment letter. "This shows that the impediments to interstate sales are not in federal law but are inherent in the business of health insurance." In other health law and insurance news: accountable care organizations, preexisting conditions protections, and enrollment.
Modern Healthcare:
Insurers, Providers Question CMS Push For Cross-Border Plans
Insurers and healthcare providers warned the CMS that federal regulations aren't the reason insurers steer clear of selling plans across state lines. The CMS issued a request for information in March on how to eliminate barriers on insurers' ability to sell cross-border plans, reviving an idea that was a pillar of President Donald Trump's 2016 campaign. The agency also asked whether Farm Bureau insurance plans or short-term, limited duration plans could help facilitate the sale of individual market plans. (King, 5/6)
Modern Healthcare:
ACOs Stick With Medicare Program When They Get Bonuses
Accountable care organizations are more likely to stay in the Medicare Shared Savings Program if they achieve bonuses, even if it's just once, according to a new study. The analysis, published Monday in Health Affairs, found that the risk of an ACO leaving the Medicare program is cut by more than three-quarters if they receive shared savings for at least one performance year. Overall, 30% of the 624 ACOs that participated at some point in the first five years of the program left. (Castellucci, 5/6)
The Hill:
Republicans Troll Democrats With Proposals To Rename Upcoming Health Care Bill
Republicans on a key House committee are trolling Democrats with amendments to rename legislation aimed at blocking some of the Trump administration's moves on the Affordable Care Act. The Protecting Americans with Preexisting Conditions Act, slated for a vote later this week, would block the Trump administration's October guidance to loosen restrictions on states’ abilities to waive certain ObamaCare requirements. (Brufke, 5/6)
Richmond Times Dispatch:
Enrollment In Obamacare Individual Marketplace Down As Premiums Climb
Fewer Virginians are buying health insurance on the Affordable Care Act marketplace for individuals as premiums have continued to increase, and even more people are expected to leave the marketplace as they have become eligible for Medicaid under the state’s expansion program, according to a report by the state Bureau of Insurance. Enrollment in the individual marketplace is projected to reach an all-time low in 2019, when 262,800 people are expected to buy health insurance individually compared with 317,866 in 2018 and a peak in 2016 of 418,013, according to the report given to the General Assembly’s Health Insurance Reform Commission on Monday. (Balch, 5/6)
