Anonymous sources told The Washington Post President Donald Trump personally called CMS Administrator Seema Verma to tell her to block Iowa's Section 1332 waiver to stabilize its insurance exchange in 2018.
The president reportedly read an article in The Wall Street Journal about Iowa's request, prompting him to reach out to Ms. Verma after attempting to reach former HHS Secretary Tom Price, MD, who was out of the country.
Iowa submitted its "Stopgap Measure" to CMS in June after both Hartford, Conn.-based Aetna and Des Moines, Iowa-based Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield exited its exchanges for 2018, leaving 94 of 99 counties with just one option for individual plans. Officials said the waiver is the only way the state can "avoid a total collapse of Iowa's individual health insurance market."
The proposal would eliminate Iowa's exchange entirely, instead providing a subsidy based on age and income for eligible individuals buying health coverage off the exchange. It would create a single-level system for individual health plans, rather than the current multi-tiered system under the ACA.
An HHS spokesperson told The Washington Post the proposal is complete and currently under review. HHS did not comment on President Trump's involvement in the matter, according to the report.
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