Insurance companies take the lead on Obamacare replacement ideas

Jessica Glenza in New York
Saturday 18 February 2017 11.00 GMT

If you want to know where Republicans find ideas to reform Obamacare, look no further than the private insurance companies.

As Republicans struggle to unify around a plan to replace the Affordable Care Act, and at the same time attempt to keep insurance companies in state marketplaces, health insurance executives appear to have found a friendly ear for their demands for change.

The most striking inclusion of industry ideas in policy appeared this week, when the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a draft rule that could dramatically affect individuals who buy insurance on state marketplaces.

Proposed changes would shorten the window to enroll in coverage from three months to six weeks, increase out-of-pocket costs to consumers and give regulatory authority for health plans to states – all proposals that insurance companies have called for since Donald Trump’s inauguration.

The public has just 20 days to comment on the draft rule change – rather than the usual 30. ...

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