HEALTHCARE/OBAMACARE(ACA)/PHARMA: “Senate Republican leaders on Monday [6-26-17] unveiled a new provision in their health bill designed to prod people to maintain their insurance coverage, a tweak made after insurers had complained an initial version of the legislation threatened to undermine the individual insurance market.
But industry officials say it isn’t clear how much the new clause would stabilize the markets or draw in the young, healthy enrollees insurers crave.
Insurers applauded the tweak, which would impose a waiting period of six months on people who try to buy plans after having a gap in coverage of 63 days or more. The idea is to motivate consumers to maintain continuous coverage, rather than jumping into the market when they get sick or need a medical procedure…
But insurers and experts also said it wasn’t clear that the new six-month lockout period or other provisions would fully make up for the impact of another important part of the Senate bill: dumping the Affordable Care Act’s mandate that requires most people to have insurance.
Many insurers feel that the ACA requirement, and the tax penalty associated with it, helps bring young, healthy enrollees into the market. Healthy enrollees help offset the costs of sicker consumers and hold down premiums.”
-Anna Wilde Mathews, “Health Insurers Uneasy With Senate’s Approach to Continuous Coverage,” The Wall Street Journal online, June 27, 2017 12:20pm