Iowa abandons bold attempt to jettison ACA rules

Source: Washington Post

By Amy Goldstein and Juliet Eilperin October 23 at 7:25 PM

Iowa is abandoning its quest to shed major elements of the Affordable Care Act, after federal health officials failed to approve the plan in time for the insurance-buying season that begins in just over a week.

The state’s withdrawal comes two months after President Trump telephoned a top federal health official with instructions to reject Iowa’s proposal.

In announcing the withdrawal of what the state has called a crucial “stopgap” plan to prevent its marketplace from collapsing, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) on Monday did not mention the president’s intervention, instead thanking Trump for trying to repeal the ACA and blaming the law itself for what she called its inflexibility.

The decision adds to turmoil surrounding the sign-up for 2018 coverage in the state that had gone further than any other in trying to jettison ACA rules and create an alternative for residents to buy insurance on their own. Iowa officials already had readied state computers for the switch, and the one company left in the insurance marketplace has been planning to raise its premiums by a whopping average of 57 percent.

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Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/iowa-abandons-bold-attempt-to-jettison-aca-rules/2017/10/23/0f1f9df2-b81d-11e7-be94-fabb0f1e9ffb_story.html