Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services: Letter to State Insurance Commissioners on Cancelled Policies

Here is the letter sent to state insurance commissioners by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight describing the administrative “fix” announced by President Barack Obama on November 14, 2013, in response to the cancellation of individual and small group health insurance policies that would not be compliant with the requirements of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act beginning January 2014. The letter encourages state insurance commissioners to adopt an administrative solution of allowing health insurance plans to offer these to-be-cancelled policies for an additional year. However, health insurance plans must provide clear notice to the insured about how the policies are not in compliance with the ACA and about alternative health insurance plans available through the health insurance marketplaces. These policies would not be available and may not be offered to new applicants for health insurance. At least one state insurance commissioner (from Washington state) has announced that he would not adopt the administrative fix.

Source: Department of Health and Human Services Office of Intergovernmental and External Affairs