Policy Uncertainty over Affordable Care Act Means Less Time for Oversight of Premium Hikes, Commonwealth Fund Says
Today, the Trump administration has said it will ask for a 90-day delay in deciding whether to continue to fund the Affordable Care Act’s subsidies to defray health plan cost-sharing for low-income enrollees (known as cost-sharing reductions, or CSRs). This is just one example of the continued uncertainty over critical ACA policies that is making it difficult for insurers to submit their proposed plans and rates.
In most states, insurers will need to submit their health plans and proposed premium rates to insurance regulators by June 21, 2017, if they wish to sell on the ACA marketplaces in 2018. This early summer deadline gives state and federal regulators time to review insurers’ justifications for proposed rate increases, assess whether they are reasonable, and ensure that consumers are receiving the benefits and protections they have been promised under the law. . .