Dive Brief:
- BlueCross and BlueShield of Tennessee, the state's largest health plan, has decided to extend coverage for another year on policies that don't meet ACA requirements, an option they have under the reform statute.
- The extension applies only to current policyholders; those who aren't currently enrolled can no longer buy these policies.
- This decision, which affects 66,000 policyholders, must receive final approval from the state insurance commissioner, who is waiting for guidance from HHS on how policy extensions should work.
Dive Insight:
Given that the ACA allows, but does not demand, extension of non-conforming policies, It's going to be a state-by-state drawdown by health plans as to how long they'll keep this up. It's hard to predict what individual health plans will do, as keeping the policies keeps dollars in house, but dropping them frees up resources to pursue the vast market of those who will buy through the exchanges. All in all, we've got something of a mess here.