Market stabilization rule could collapse the ACA exchanges
By Virgil Dickson
April 14, 2017 - Modern Healthcare
Insurers are reeling from regulatory changes to the individual insurance
market that they say will lower revenue and does nothing to address their
biggest financial concerns.
A final rule released Thursday was supposed to help stabilize the marketplace
created by the Affordable Care Act in lieu of any resolution to repeal and
replace the healthcare reform law.
But the insurance industry immediately reacted with fear, saying the moves
would reduce enrollment and therefore sales. The result could leave hospitals on
the hook for more uncompensated care.
The White House finalized a rule Thursday that attempted to pacify insurers
who said they needed some stability in the individual
marketplace before they committed to selling plans in 2018.
The rule cuts open enrollment to six weeks from three months and makes it
harder for consumers to gain coverage outside of that period. It also lets
insurers pay a lower percentage of medical costs and allows them to refuse
coverage to people who haven't paid their premiums.
Those moves will disproportionately affect low-income individuals, according
to Emily Evans, a health policy analyst at Hedgeye Risk Management. Of the 9.2
million people who selected plans on Healthcare.gov this last enrollment period,
6.5 million had incomes between 100% to 250% of the federal poverty level.
This population tends to have the most trouble accessing cash between
Thanksgiving and Martin Luther King Day and the least amount of trouble when
W-2s are issued in January, Evans said.
The final rule sets the 2018 enrollment period from Nov. 1 to Dec. 15,
2017.
Evans believes the rule will significantly limit participation in the
exchange plans.
Kaiser Permanente noted the same and worried the shortened enrollment window
would reduce plan sales, which would impact the overall risk pool and could
result in higher premiums.
Further, the new open enrollment dates overlap with Medicare open enrollment
which is from October 15 - December 7th.
Insurance brokers, who have historically signed up at least
half of Healthcare.gov enrollees during open enrollment, say they intend to
shift focus and resources to the more stable and lucrative Medicare, according
to Michael Levin, Co-Founder and CEO of Vericred, a healthcare data services
company.
"This will result in fewer brokers and other advisors helping individuals in
what will arguably be one of the most difficult open enrollment periods," Levin
said.
Experts are also saying it appears that the rule will do little to stop the
exit of insurers from the individual market. The two key issues that insurers
care most about are whether the administration will enforce the individual
mandate and whether the payment of cost sharing subsidies will continue.
"If insurers are to plan ahead and develop networks and products to serve
this population well over time, they need to know that the (federal and state)
marketplaces will be there for at least several years and what subsidies will be
available to make insurance affordable for purchasers," said Alice Rivlin, a
senior fellow in economic studies and the Center for Health Policy at the
Brookings Institution.
The insurance industry's two biggest concerns remain outstanding. The rule
doesn't address the individual mandate at all and only indirectly addresses cost
sharing subsidies.
Right now, silver plans must cover at least 68% of costs, with the rest
coming out of consumers' pockets. The final rule drops that amount to 66%,
resulting in cheaper plans but up to $1,000 more out of pocket for
consumers.
To offset these costs, the administration suggested increasing by $200
million to $400 million the subsidy funds provided to enrollees in 2018.
However, the increase in cost sharing reductions was added to the rule by CMS
actuaries who must score the impact of rulemakings based on existing law. As
such, insurance companies shouldn't look at that part of the rule as an
assurance that the money will be paid, according to Edmund Haislmaier, a senior
fellow at the Heritage Foundation.
A federal district judge in a lawsuit brought by House Republicans found the
federal payments for the cost-sharing reductions unconstitutional. President
Donald Trump could drop the Obama administration's appeal of the ruling and halt
the payments. He warned last week that he might do that if Democrats don't
negotiate with him on repealing and replacing the ACA.
Removing the subsidies would lead to a collapse of the market plans, experts
say.
"The continuation of cost sharing reductions is vital to ensuring that plans
remain in these markets and that premiums, which continue to rise as a
reflection of increasing health care costs, remain affordable to the millions of
Americans who pay for their own insurance," said Charlie Sheffield, executive
director of the Colorado Association of Health Plans.
The collapse of the individual market would be another way to force
Democrats' hand, Trump has said.
Still, health plans say the rule is a first step at addressing the concern of
sicker people flooding the marketplace to pick up insurance for the sole purpose
of covering expensive services and then dropping coverage.
"The rule should help improve the functioning of the individual market, and
our members are thankful to see improvements on special enrollment periods and
greater flexibility in product design," said Dominick Pallone, executive
director of the Michigan Association of Health Plans.