Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
With New Rule, Administration Wants To Give States More Flexibility On ACA's Essential Benefits
The Associated Press: Trump Administration Proposes Health Law Benefit Changes
The Trump administration on Friday proposed new health insurance regulations that could affect basic benefits required by the Affordable Care Act, but not for a couple of years. Loosening "Obamacare" benefit requirements was a major sticking point for congressional Republicans in thus-far fruitless efforts to repeal the law. The complex new plan from the administration would give states a potential path to easing some requirements. (Alonso-Zaldivar, 10/27)
Modern Healthcare: CMS To Allow States To Define Essential Health Benefits
The CMS proposed a rule late Friday aimed at giving states more flexibility in stabilizing the Affordable Care Act exchanges and in interpreting the law's essential health benefits as a way to lower the cost of individual and small group health plans. ... The CMS said the rule would give states greater flexibility in defining the ACA's minimum essential benefits to increase affordability of coverage. States would play a larger role in the certification of qualified health plans offered on the federal insurance exchange. And they would have more leeway in setting medical loss ratios for individual-market plans. (Meyer, Livington and Dickson, 10/27)
