Acting Insurance Commissioner Urges Pa. Congressional Delegation to Support Bipartisan Insurance Market Stabilization Package

HARRISBURG, Pennsylvania, March 13 -- The Pennsylvania Insurance Department issued the following news release:

Acting Insurance Commissioner Jessica Altman today sent a letter to Pennsylvania's two U.S. senators and 17 U.S. representatives urging their support for a bipartisan health insurance marketplace stabilization package that she said would help moderate health insurance premiums for middle-class Pennsylvanians and stabilize the individual market.

Congressional lawmakers are currently working to include the bipartisan package in the upcoming congressional spending bill that must be approved by March 23 to avoid a federal government shutdown.

"This package contains three critical bipartisan provisions that are needed to stabilize the insurance market and protect hard-working Pennsylvania consumers," Altman said. "I urge our members of Congress to support inclusion of this language in the upcoming spending bill to help moderate health insurance premiums for middle-class Pennsylvanians and stabilize the individual market in 2019 and beyond."

The package restores cost-sharing reduction (CSR) payments for two years. The Trump Administration discontinued the reimbursement for CSRs in 2017, causing 2018 premiums on the ACA's silver plans to increase significantly.

The bipartisan package also provides federal funds to reinstate a reinsurance program for insurers for the next two years. Created temporarily under the ACA to help insurers cover costs of patients with costly health issues, reinsurance would once again help ease the financial burden of high-cost claims and, therefore, help keep premiums down for healthier consumers.

Finally, the bipartisan package amends Section 1332 of the Affordable Care Act to create a state waiver process that Altman said would be "clear, timely and flexible." Section 1332 allows states to adjust certain provisions of the ACA to fit their needs.

"This package will encourage competition, lower premium costs and provide affordable coverage options for middle-class consumers across the country and throughout Pennsylvania," Altman said. "This package will give Pennsylvania families a real opportunity to benefit from a more robust marketplace."