The Obama administration is expected to announce another extension of health plans that aren't compliant with the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, insurance industry officials have told The Washington Post.
The expected extension has become an "open secret" in the insurance and health policy world, and health insurers expect the White House will soon announce people can choose to keep their non-PPACA compliant plans for one to three more years, according to the Post. White House aides and HHS officials have not confirmed the second extension.
Late last year, President Obama initially decided to let health insurers continue offering plans that don't meet the reform law's requirements through the end of this year. Originally, non-grandfathered policies — plans that went into effect or underwent certain changes after the PPACA became law in March 2010 — had to meet new coverage requirements in 2014, and many insurers sent out cancellation notices to people in non-grandfathered plans that weren't compliant with the new criteria.
In December, Moody's Investors Services issued a report stating the extension of noncompliant plans could lead younger, healthier people to stay away from the exchanges in 2014, resulting in a negative effect on the profile of the exchange health risk-pool. According to another Moody's report released last month, extending those plans again will "exacerbate the issue and will likely result in higher premiums for exchange policies with an insured population that will be less healthy and less profitable for insurers."
More Articles on PPACA Policy Changes:
Recent PPACA Policy Changes Will Negatively Affect Insurers, Moody's Says
3 Key Findings About the Effects of Health Plan Extensions
Humana Blames Extended Health Plans for Unbalanced PPACA Risk Pool