Tick Tock: An Unforgiving Calendar for Health Plans Makes Orderly “Transition” for Affordable Care Act Repeal Unlikely
<p>In the face of projections that repeal of the ACA will lead to 22 million to 30 million Americans losing coverage, some Congressional leaders have called for a multi-year transition period, during which the ACA’s insurance reforms and subsidies will remain in place until a replacement plan is enacted. But, as Sabrina Corlette, Kevin Lucia, and Julie Andrews of the Georgetown Health Policy Institute point out in a new<em> To the Point</em> post, the uncertainty that arises from this transition period, along with a tight timeline for bringing health insurance products to market, will likely create major disruptions for consumers. </p><p>In preparation for the 2018 market, for example, insurers are already making decisions about participation, service areas, network designs, and more. Determining prices for these products will take many months; the uncertainty is likely to lead to higher prices. Moreover, a new administration’s ability to adjust deadlines is limited, assuming they want consumers to be able to shop for health plans during the open enrollment season for 2018.</p>
http://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/newsletters/ealerts/2016/dec/unforgiving-calendar Read the post