DENVER – Last Thursday, Connect for Health Colorado’s Board of Directors took a support position on House Bill 24-1258 Credit Covered Person Expenses Insurer Insolvency. This bill will require a covered individual’s new health insurance company to credit out-of-pocket expenses paid if their current health insurance company leaves the market mid-plan year and can no longer provide coverage. This bill also provides methods for health insurance companies to recoup any expenses and increase in claims liability because of crediting out-of-pocket expenses. Connect for Health Colorado has released the following statement:
CMS to Adopt Rules to Lower Health Care Costs in 2022 Federal Health Insurance Marketplace Plans
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) today adopted new provisions to lower maximum out-of-pocket costs to consumers by $400, while increasing competition and improving the consumer experience for millions of Americans who will rely on the Federal Health Insurance Marketplaces in plan year 2022. These actions demonstrate a strong commitment by the Biden-Harris Administration to protect and build on the Affordable Care Act (ACA), reduce health care costs, and make our health care system easier to navigate and more equitable.
This is a HUGE deal, especially in California, where an estimated 430,000 residents are enrolled in off-exchange ACA policies which are virtually identical to their on-exchange equivalent, with the sole distinction of those enrolled in them not being eligible for ACA subsidies.
With subsidies being beefed up and the 400% FPL subsidy cliff having been killed (for the next 2 years, at least), this means that hundreds of thousands of Californians have just become eligible for thousands of dollars in savings...as long as they transition to the same plan on-exchange.
