Phil Murphy: NJ getting its own Obamacare marketplace to guard against Trump

March 22-- Mar. 22--New Jersey will operate its own health insurance marketplace in 2021 in a bid to guard against the Trump administration's attempt to unwind restrictions of the Affordable Care Act, Gov. Phil Murphy said Friday.

The decision would make New Jersey the 12th state to create its own exchange under the health care law, commonly nicknamed Obamacare. Until now, it has used an exchange operated by the federal government. And it could help the state give residents more time to sign up.

"Because we are operating on the federal exchange, we are subject to the whims of the Trump administration and directly impacted by its efforts to damage and destabilize the market," Marlene Caride, commissioner of the state Department of Banking and Insurance, said in a statement.

The exchange is designed for consumers who don't get their insurance through Medicare or their employer, a fraction of the population who traditionally has been difficult to insure. It allows them to shop for policies and apply for subsidies to help lower their premiums.

The move by Murphy is the latest step in his attempt to shore up the Affordable Care Act, a President Barack Obama-era law that has been under fire from President Donald Trump.

For example: New Jersey reinstated the individual mandate, requiring most residents have insurance or pay a penalty. It began a reinsurance program to help insurers pay for the highest-risk patients. And it prevents insurers from selling less expensive, but also less comprehensive, policies.

Watch the video at the top of this story to learn more about bringing the individual mandate back to New Jersey, or check out the stories below to get more details.

But there were other parts of the ACA that it couldn't control. Most prominently, the Trump administration shortened the enrollment period for states using the federal exchange from three months to six weeks.

By comparison, New York, which operates its own exchange, still has a three-month enrollment period.

Murphy thought his steps paid off. Health insurance premiums in New Jersey fell on average 9.3 percent.

But figures from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services showed 255,246 New Jerseyans enrolled for coverage through the ACA marketplace for 2019, down more than 5 percent from last year.

"Forcing Americans to buy insurance they can't afford isn't the answer," CMS Administrator Seema Varma said in a Twitter post in January, pointing to New Jersey's enrollment figures.

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Murphy sent a letter to CMS Friday saying the state intended to create its own exchange. To pay for it, he wants to redirect the federal exchange user fee -- a 3.5 percent assessment on premiums -- to the state beginning in 2021.

"We are eager to work with Gov. Murphy and lawmakers to ensure that a state-based exchange, which serves as a gateway to coverage for individual-market consumers and Medicaid members, is efficient, effective and designed in a way that does not contribute to higher health premiums," said Ward Sanders, president of the New Jersey Association of Health Plans, a trade group representing health insurers.

Meanwhile, Murphy called on New Jersey lawmakers to update the state laws to protect the ACA's provisions in case the federal law doesn't survive. Among them: Allowing parents to keep their children on their health insurance policies until they are 26 and eliminating annual and lifetime limits.

The state's health provider trade groups applauded:

"Covering more people with health insurance and making sure that coverage is adequate for their medical needs is essential to improve health status and begin addressing the affordability concerns in health care today," said Cathy Bennett, president and chief executive officer of the New Jersey Hospital Association.

The Medical Society of New Jersey representing physicians "supports reforms to the New Jersey insurance market that create increased access to health care for our patients," said Dr. John Poole, the group's president.

Michael L. Diamond; @mdiamondapp; 732-643-4038; mdiamond@gannettnj.com

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