The Obama administration announced it will stop issuing one-year waivers to insurers for certain provisions that are part of the healthcare reform law, according to a Wall Street Journal news report.
The federal government began granting one-year waivers for insurers to delay implementation of coverage limits under the healthcare reform law. The waivers, which would prevent insurers from restricting annual benefit payouts below $750,000 a year, were designed to give insurers time to revamp coverage. HHS will stop accepting applications for waivers after Sept. 22. Health plans that obtain a waiver by that time will be able to apply for an extension through 2013.
An HHS official said a majority of health plans that need the waiver "are the ones that would have applied and did apply this year." Many of the waivers have reportedly gone to "mini-med" plans, including McDonald's and Foot Locker, offering limited annual coverage below the reform law's new annual coverage.
Conservatives have long pointed to waivers as a sign that healthcare reform law isn't working and should be repealed. The GOP has also criticized the waivers, citing favoritism among applicants. However, a report from the Government Accountability Office showed waivers were mainly approved for plans that would have increased premiums by at least 10 percent or that would have been forced to cut benefits. Health plans that would have increased premiums by 6 percent or less were mostly denied waivers, according to the news report.
Read the Wall Street Journal report about healthcare reform waivers.
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The federal government began granting one-year waivers for insurers to delay implementation of coverage limits under the healthcare reform law. The waivers, which would prevent insurers from restricting annual benefit payouts below $750,000 a year, were designed to give insurers time to revamp coverage. HHS will stop accepting applications for waivers after Sept. 22. Health plans that obtain a waiver by that time will be able to apply for an extension through 2013.
An HHS official said a majority of health plans that need the waiver "are the ones that would have applied and did apply this year." Many of the waivers have reportedly gone to "mini-med" plans, including McDonald's and Foot Locker, offering limited annual coverage below the reform law's new annual coverage.
Conservatives have long pointed to waivers as a sign that healthcare reform law isn't working and should be repealed. The GOP has also criticized the waivers, citing favoritism among applicants. However, a report from the Government Accountability Office showed waivers were mainly approved for plans that would have increased premiums by at least 10 percent or that would have been forced to cut benefits. Health plans that would have increased premiums by 6 percent or less were mostly denied waivers, according to the news report.
Read the Wall Street Journal report about healthcare reform waivers.
Related Articles on Healthcare Reform:
HHS Will Not Revise Healthcare Reform Regulations
Appeals Court Judges Question Constitutionally of Health Reform Law
Five Senate Leaders Sign Letter Urging VP Biden to Dismiss GOP Medicare Plan