States See Opportunities for Flexibility in the ACA’s Innovation Waiver Program
<p>As the Trump administration looks to give states greater leeway under the Affordable Care Act, attention has increasingly focused on the health law’s state innovation waiver program. In a new post on<em> To the Point,</em> Justin Giovannelli and Kevin Lucia of Georgetown University’s Center on Health Insurance Reforms explain how these waivers allow states to modify key parts of the law while following “guardrails” to ensure coverage stays comprehensive and affordable. </p><p>The authors review one of the first approved waivers — for Alaska’s reinsurance program — and offer an interactive map on where other states stand in the waiver process. While many states see value in the waiver program, Giovannelli and Lucia emphasize the importance of vigilant monitoring “to ensure waivers result from a deliberative process at the state and federal levels, with sufficient opportunity for public review and input.”</p>
http://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/newsletters/ealerts/2017/sep/state-opportunity-innovation-waiver-program Read the post