ACA Round-Up: QHP Application Deadline Passes, House v. Price, Special Enrollment Periods

June 21, 2017, was the last day for insurers to file qualified health plan applications in the 39 states that use HealthCare.gov, including federally facilitated marketplace (FFM), plan management, and state-based marketplace-federal platform states. There were reportedly a few additional defections, including Anthem from Wisconsin and Indiana, but most insurers are back from last year, and a there are a few new entrants, notably Centene in several states. According to slides posted at the CMS REGTAP.info website, insurers may make any changes they wish to their plan filings until August 16, 2017, except for adding plans, changing plan type or child-only value, or changing service areas without permission from CMS, as long as they get state regulator approval. Insurers that wish to change the service area served by a plan must petition CMS by August 4, 2017. From August 17, 2017, CMS will not allow further changes except data corrections needed to correct data display errors and align QHP plan displays with products and plans approved by the states. Insurers will have a final opportunity to withdraw plans during the plan confirmation process, which takes place between September 12 and 15, 2017. These deadlines are not statutory but are rather established by guidance. It is hard to believe, therefore, that if an insurer steps forward to cover a bare county (or which 44 currently are believed to exist in Missouri, Ohio, and Washington, CMS would not accept a late filing. Th...
Source: Health Affairs Blog - Category: Health Management Authors: Tags: Following the ACA Insurance and Coverage house v. price special enrollment periods Source Type: blogs