ABSTRACT
Issue: Certain forms of individual health coverage are not required to comply with the consumer protections of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). These "alternative coverage arrangements" — including transitional policies, short-term plans, health care sharing ministries, and association health plans — tend to have lower upfront costs and offer far fewer benefits than ACA-compliant insurance. While appealing to some healthy individuals, they are often unattractive, or unavailable, to people in less-than-perfect health. By leveraging their regulatory advantages to enroll healthy individuals, these alternatives to marketplace coverage may contribute to a smaller, sicker, and less stable ACA-compliant market. The Trump administration recently has acted to reduce federal barriers to these arrangements.
Goal: To understand how states regulate coverage arrangements that do not comply with the ACA's individual health insurance market reforms.
Methods: Analysis of the applicable laws, regulations, and guidance of the 50 states and the District of Columbia.
Findings and Conclusions: No state's regulatory framework fully protects the individual market from adverse selection by the alternative coverage arrangements studied. However, states have the authority to ensure a level playing field among coverage options to promote market stability.
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- Copyright 2018 by Commonwealth Fund. All rights reserved.