ACA Round-Up: Last Bare County Covered, Oklahoma Waiver Application Complete, And More

The Ohio Department of Insurance announced on August 24, 2017 that CareSource has agreed to offer exchange coverage in Paulding County, Ohio, the last “bare county” in the country. Of course, insurers have until September 27 to make a final decision as to whether they will participate in the exchanges for 2018; if the administration announced tomorrow that it would no longer reimburse insurers for reducing cost sharing as insurers are required to do under the Affordable Care Act, we could see a lot of bare counties quite quickly. Barring further developments, however, exchange coverage will now be available in every part of the United States, although over 1,300 counties with 2.6 million enrollees will be in counties where only one insurer is available. CMS Says Oklahoma 1332 Waiver Application Is Complete On August 24, 2017, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services also determined that Oklahoma’s application for a 1332 state innovation waiver was complete. This determination begins the 180-day period during which CMS must complete its evaluation of the proposal, as well as a one-month period during which the proposal is available for public comment. Oklahoma is in the process of developing its own alternative to the ACA, some elements of which would require further 1332 waivers and other elements of which probably cannot be accomplished without a rewrite of the ACA. For 2018, however, Oklahoma is only asking for a 1332 waiver to establish a reinsurance program, w...
Source: Health Affairs Blog - Category: Health Management Authors: Tags: Following the ACA Insurance and Coverage 1332 waivers MacArthur Amendment Oklahoma Source Type: blogs