Dive Brief:
- Legislation proposed by Senator Lamar Alexander would extend Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies to consumers purchasing individual plans off of insurance exchanges, according to Morning Consult.
- His bill would allow governors in states with little competition on exchanges to extend subsidies to consumers purchasing plans off of the exchanges.
- If enacted, the bill would also waive the individual mandate in states where subsidies were extended to consumers purchasing plans off of the exchanges.
Dive Insight:
The proposed legislation comes as payers are leaving insurance exchanges in droves and premiums are set to rise significantly. Next year, more than one-third of counties in the U.S. could have just one payer available to choose from on their insurance exchanges.
The bill would offer more options to consumers in states where payers are leaving insurance exchanges. For instance, Senator Kelly Ayotte announced that 11,000 people in her home state of New Hampshire will have to find a new plan next year after their insurers announced they will be ending participation on the state exchange.
The lack of competition on ACA is becoming a big problem. Many payers are leaving the exchanges due to lack of profits, which leaves consumers with little choice and higher premiums. Senator Alexander’s bill would offer consumers the benefit of the ACA subsidy while expanding their options beyond the exchanges.
On the other side of the aisle, legislators are making a different proposal to increase competition on the exchanges, according to USA Today. Multiple senators have teamed up and announced they will introduce legislation that would open up a public option for consumers. Although politically unlikely, a public option seems to be garnering more attention now than it has since the Affordable Care Act passed.