Friday, December 6, 2013

States are Divided on Extending Old Insurance Health Plans

Insurance commissioners in most Republican-led states have agreed to a request from President Barack Obama to allow carriers to extend many insurance plans slated for cancellation, while regulators in Democratic states remain divided, The Wall Street Journal has found. 
At least 21 of 30 states with GOP governors have said they are willing to let insurers extend policies through 2014 that otherwise would be canceled because they don't comply with the new federal health law. Many of the Republican-led states are allowing renewals that would extend coverage well into 2015.
The decisions have consequences for the law's fate, both short-term and long-term. The ability of more Americans to keep their old plans could placate some critics of Mr. Obama, but supporters of the Affordable Care Act fear it could ultimately undermine the law's promise of moving people into new health plans with broader coverage.
The president proposed the change on Nov. 14 to alleviate political pressure over the cancellations affecting consumers who bought individual policies. Mr. Obama had repeatedly promised that people who liked their health plans could keep them. 
Many states taking the president up on his offer have cited the problems riddling the federal health-care exchange. The federal government is running the exchanges for almost all of the GOP-led states because they declined to do so themselves, out of opposition to the law.
Among the biggest Republican-led states that have agreed to work with insurers—or at least not get in their way if they want to extend policies—are Florida, Georgia, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas and Wisconsin. Some of these states have hundreds of thousands of people facing policy cancellations. 
Some Democratic-led states have been more reluctant. They are concerned it could undermine the success of the law by keeping consumers from the new health-insurance exchanges. Policyholders who want to keep their plans, which are typically less comprehensive than the new plans, are believed to be healthier people.
At least 10 Democratic-led states and the District of Columbia are in the "no" camp, the Journal's survey found, including Connecticut, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York and Washington. Almost all of these 10 run their own health-insurance exchanges.
Read the rest of the story HERE.

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1 comment:

BOSMAN said...

"Insurance commissioners in most Republican-led states have agreed to a request from President Barack Obama to allow carriers to extend many insurance plans slated for cancellation, while regulators in Democratic states remain divided, The Wall Street Journal has found."

SURE...The Democrats know that the majority of their supporters are on the public dole and with the expansion of the income qualifications for Medicaid, these folks are all signing up and are anxious for the rest of us (ESPECIALLY THE YOUNG AND HEALTHY) to start paying their health insurance bills.

...No surprises here..