Note: The rule below actually doesn't apply to health insurance carriers, who I presume are bound by other federal and state transparency provisions in the ACA and other laws/regulations; it's primarily focused on auto and homeowner's insurance policies. I found it noteworthy enough to include here regardless, given my annual ACA rate filing project.
Rule adopted requiring insurers to tell you why your premium is going up
OLYMPIA, Wash. — Washington state Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler has adopted a rule that requires insurance companies to explain premium increases to their policyholders in language they can understand.
An individual coverage health reimbursement arrangement (ICHRA) is a new type of health reimbursement arrangement in which employers of any size can reimburse employees for some or all of the premiums that the employees pay for health insurance that they purchase on their own...ICHRAs represent a departure from previous ACA implementation rules that forbid employers from reimbursing employees for individual market premiums....
A few weeks ago, I reported that both Nevada and Oklahoma had placed insolvent insurance carrier Friday Health Plans under receivership, leaving just two states left to do so (North Carolina and Colorado, which happens to also be the home to Friday's corporate headquarters).
It turned out that I was correct about Oklahoma, but had jumped the gun slightly re. Nevada; the insurance commissioner had petitioned the court to put Friday into receivership, but hadn't actually done so yet.
via the North Carolina Dept. of Insurance (email; no link yet):
Insurance Commissioner Causey places Friday Health Plans of North Carolina Inc. into receivership
RALEIGH – North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey announced today that Friday Health Plans of North Carolina Inc. (FHP-NC) has consented to being placed into receivership to protect North Carolina policyholders due to its reported insolvency and inability to raise additional funds from outside investors.
The petition for receivership is expected to be filed with the Wake County Superior Court today and the receivership order will be posted on the North Carolina Department of Insurance website after the order is signed.
Under the President’s leadership, the Biden-Harris Administration has continued its work to invest in America, lower costs for families, combat climate change, and grow the economy from the bottom up and middle out. The Administration is using every available tool to improve Americans’ lives, including Federal regulations that my office—the Office of Information and Regulatory Review (OIRA)—reviews.
Today, OIRA is releasing its Spring Regulatory Agenda , which details additional actions that Federal agencies are considering over the coming months. These actions build on and accelerate this Administration’s progress in delivering for the American people.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) Office of the Actuary released projections of National Health Expenditures (NHE) and health insurance enrollment for the years 2022-2031. The report contains expected impacts from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), including that people with Medicare prescription drug coverage (Part D) are projected to experience lower out-of-pocket spending on prescription drugs for 2024 and beyond as several provisions from the law begin to take effect.
Individual Coverage Health Reimbursement Arrangements, or the unfortunate-soundingICHRA for short, are a type of health insurance arrangements which were created via Trump administration-era regulations back in 2019.
An individual coverage health reimbursement arrangement (ICHRA) is a new type of health reimbursement arrangement in which employers of any size can reimburse employees for some or all of the premiums that the employees pay for health insurance that they purchase on their own...ICHRAs represent a departure from previous ACA implementation rules that forbid employers from reimbursing employees for individual market premiums....
...data is only available for 8 states so far; for another, the data from those states is a mish-mash, clearly broken out in some but only partial in others, and some only include percentages instead of hard numbers.
Even so, you can already see that at least 258,000 people have lost Medicaid coverage due to paperwork/clerical issues in just Arkansas and Florida alone...in just the first two months of the unwinding process.
Thanks to the Biden-Harris Administration’s efforts to strengthen maternal health, an estimated 509,000 Americans annually are now eligible for essential care for a full year after pregnancy.
Today, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), announced New York’s extension of comprehensive coverage after pregnancy through Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) for postpartum individuals for a full 12 months.
Last week Amy Lotven of Inside Health Policy noted that the 5th Circuit Court panel was trying to come up with some sort of stopgap solution to the ongoing Braidwood v. Becerra lawsuit until such time as the case winds its way up to the U.S. Supreme Court.
One judge on the federal appeals court panel considering whether an order blocking HHS from enforcing the Affordable Care Act preventive services coverage mandate should continue to be partially stayed through its appeal is urging the parties to pursue a workable resolution, and legal expert Tim Jost says the panel appeared open to the government’s suggestion the court issue a narrow solution that only applies to insurers in Texas.
