Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Long History Of Fraud And Shady Operators Linked To Association Health Plans Has Experts Worried
Modern Healthcare: Fraud Fears Rise As Feds Expand Access To Association Health Plans
Regulators and insurance experts worry the Trump administration's new rule expanding association health plans for small businesses and self-employed people will lead to a spike in insurance fraud and insolvencies that plagued consumers and healthcare providers in the past. The Labor Department's 198-page final rule, issued Tuesday in response to President Donald Trump's executive order in October, will make it easier for small firms and individuals to band together across state lines in association health plans governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. (Meyer, 6/20)
The Hill: NY, Mass. To Sue Over Trump Health Plans Skirting ObamaCare Requirements
New York and Massachusetts will sue the Trump administration over its expansion of health insurance plans that don't meet all of ObamaCare's requirements. New York Attorney General Barbara Underwood (D) and Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey (D) argue the expansion of association health plans will "invite fraud, mismanagement and deception." (Hellmann, 6/20)
And in other health law news —
The Wall Street Journal: Insurers To Expand Presence In Affordable Care Act Marketplaces Despite Uncertainty
After years of pullbacks, insurers are increasing their footprints in the Affordable Care Act marketplaces next year, despite uncertainty including the latest court challenge to the health law. Centene Corp. and Molina Healthcare Inc. said they are making regulatory filings to newly join or re-enter ACA exchanges in states including North Carolina, Wisconsin and Utah. Smaller operators have made filings signaling they will likely come into markets where they didn’t offer ACA marketplace products this year, including Bright Health Inc. in Tennessee, Virginia Premier in the Richmond, Va., area and Presbyterian Health Plan in New Mexico. (Wilde Mathews, 6/21)
The Hill: Key ObamaCare Groups In Limbo As They Await Funding
Local groups that help people sign up for ObamaCare and Medicaid have yet to hear from the Trump administration about their annual federal funding, leaving many in limbo and fearing the grants could be too small or might not come at all. “We really haven’t gotten any update or any deadline to submit applications or any knowledge at all about what the future is going to bring,” said Karen Egozi, CEO of the Epilepsy Foundation of Florida, one of the state’s larger health-care navigator programs. (Hellmann and Roubein, 6/20)
Des Moines Register: Medica Price Increases For Iowa Health Insurance Modest For 2019
Iowans who buy their own health insurance are about to get a rare bit of good news — at least relatively good news. Medica, the sole carrier now selling individual health insurance policies in Iowa, plans to raise its 2019 premiums by less than a tenth as much as it did for 2018. Medica raised its Iowa health insurance premiums by a staggering average of 57 percent for 2018. It was the steepest such health insurance increase in Iowa history. Company leaders said last summer they needed the higher premiums to stay in the market. But this time around, the Minnesota-based carrier is planning to raise Iowa premiums by an average of less than 5.6 percent, state regulators disclosed Wednesday. (Leys, 6/20)
