Obamacare supporters welcomed HHS proposal Thursday to automatically re-enroll consumers in health plans on the federal insurance exchange in 2015 to avoid mass confusion and many people dropping out of coverage. But both supporters and critics say the proposal could increase costs for many consumers if they dont shop around and exercise the option to switch plans. About 95% of federal exchange customers will be eligible to be automatically re-enrolled in their private plans for next year, HHS said. That could help avert headaches for consumers, insurers, exchange officials and healthcare providers, who dont want to see patients drop coverage. Unless consumers file new enrollment and income information for 2015, the government will use their income information on file from 2014 to set their federal premium tax credit. Experts predict many consumers will accept the re-enrollment and not choose a different plan, even if they could get a better deal on premiums and benefits. Research has shown that only about 5% of Medicare Advantage enrollees and Medicare Part D drug plan enrollees change plans each year, even though switching often would be a better deal. If the same holds true for Obamacare exchange customers, that will be good news for insurers, including many Blues plans, that established dominant market shares in the exchanges this year. But its potentially a problem for insurers that struggled to draw customers during the initial sign-up period or are planning to compete on the exchanges for the first time during the 2015 enrollment period. But there are concerns that consumers may belatedly find out that the federal premium subsidy they received was either too high or too low. If it was too high, they will have to refund the overpayment to the Internal Revenue Service. If it was too low, they would have paid too much out of pocket for the premium, though they can apply for an adjustment at the end of the year. The proposed rule reduces the potential for mass confusion about re-enrollments just ahead of the November congressional elections, as well as the potential for people inadvertently dropping coverage and causing a big increase in the uninsured rate. Many consumers who are new to the individual insurance market may not realize they have to re-enroll. Consumers will receive notifications from HHS about their 2015 options in the weeks before heading to the polls. It is expected to reduce the strain on the HealthCare.gov federal enrollment website. Theyre trying to reduce disruptions in the marketplace by basically allowing people to do nothing and stay insured, said Caroline Pearson, a vice president at the consulting and research firm Avalere Health. That avoids having people inadvertently fall out of coverage. modernhealthcare/article/20140627/NEWS/306279964/reform-update-aca-automatic-re-enrollments-seen-as-easing-election
Posted on: Fri, 27 Jun 2014 22:22:53 +0000
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