Ohio ACA plans could cost more after Trump suspends billions in payments
Residents will also have less help searching for the right plan after federal funding for enrollment outreach was slashed to
Sign-ups were slightly down for 2018 open enrollment.
County 2018 2017
Butler 7,387 7,806
Champaign 627 587
Clark 1,869 2,074
Warren 5,745 5,359
Source:
While the Trump administration hasn't repealed and replaced the Affordable Care Act, it has still been chipping away at the insurance markets created by the health law.
"I hate to use the word clever but it's a clever way to unravel the Affordable Care Act," said
The payments that are being suspended by the Trump administration are part of the so called "risk adjustment" program, which takes payments from insurers with healthier customers and redistributes that money to companies with sicker enrollees. No taxpayer subsidies are involved.
Payments are made retroactively and for 2017 are
The idea behind the program is to remove the financial incentives for insurers to "cherry pick" healthier customers. The government uses a similar approach with Medicare private insurance plans and the Medicare prescription drug benefit.
Reed said regulations limit insurers ability to charge more to lower their risk, so the loss of these payments could make some of these insurance companies pull back or walk away altogether rather than risk big losses. This especially will be felt by the insurers that sell plans for small groups.
"I think it's going to make virtually everyone walk away from the exchange in the small group market. You just have too much risk. You can't do anything to protect yourself," he said.
As of June, the 2019 rates were estimated to rise an average of 8.2 percent in
"CareSource has been in the Marketplace since the beginning of the Affordable Care Act, and we remain committed to providing affordable, quality health care coverage to our current membership and consumers who still need coverage," he said in a statement.
The administration "has asked the court to reconsider its ruling, and hopes for a prompt resolution that allows (the government) to prevent more adverse impacts on Americans who receive their insurance in the individual and small group markets," she said.
Unable to totally repeal the law, the
-- Repealing, effective next year, an unpopular requirement that most people carry health insurance, or risk fines. The nonpartisan
-- Eliminating another set of payments to insurers, which covered discounts that the companies are required to provide low-income people on their copayments and deductibles.
-- Clearing the way for low-cost insurance plans that cover less and may siphon healthier customers away from ACA plans.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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