HEALTHCARE/OBAMACARE(ACA): “Iowa officials filed a federal application to alter major aspects of the Affordable Care Act next year, the most ambitious so far of a growing crop of state efforts to tweak the health law with the goal of shoring up individual insurance markets.
Iowa’s proposal, which state officials said they are already preparing to implement pending federal approval, would go the furthest in revamping the health law’s rules, and its path will be closely watched in other states as Republican efforts to overhaul the ACA at the federal level appear stalled. The Iowa setup would offer just one type of insurance plan and reshape the health law’s subsidies that help people buy coverage, among other changes. State officials, who are applying under a special waiver setup allowed by the ACA, argue they need to repair a market that is expected to be down to just one insurer that has requested sharp rate increases for 2018.
States including Idaho, Minnesota and Oregon have submitted applications for less-sweeping waivers that aim to blunt insurers’ expense for covering the claims of people with costly health conditions. In total, 13 states have passed laws authorizing state officials to craft ACA waiver requests, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. At least six others are considering such legislation.”
-Anna Wilde Mathews, Michelle Hackman, and Stephanie Armour, “Iowa Seeks Ambitious Waiver to Reshape Health Law Within Its Borders,” The Wall Street Journal online, Aug. 23, 2017 10:22am