ACA policy shift could let 16,000 Mainers keep plans
The Obama administration’s decision to delay by one year the cancellation of health insurance policies that don’t meet Affordable Care Act standards could allow nearly 16,000 Maine residents to stay with plans they were told would be cancelled or modified next year.
The Portland Press Herald reported regulators and insurance companies in Maine were still reviewing the president’s announcement Thursday and the impact for affected policyholders remains unclear. The paper reported that nearly 16,000 Maine residents, roughly half of the state’s individual market, have received cancellation or change notices for their plans.
The state’s largest insurer on the individual market, Anthem, has already set out to cancel and replace plans out of step with the ACA on Jan. 1 and would not say Thursday whether it is considering extending its non-compliant policies. That group includes 8,500 Anthem policyholders, covering 9,600 people.
MEGA Life and Health Insurance Co., the paper reported, plans to extend its non-compliant individual market plans to more than 3,850 policyholders in the state. Those policies cover 6,175 people.
An industry trade group has expressed concern that the latest move will destabilize the health insurance market and drive up premiums on plans through the health care exchanges. Dan Bernier, an attorney and lobbyist representing insurance agents in Augusta, said the policy shift creates uncertainty for insurers who don’t know how many policyholders will opt to stick with their plans, according to the newspaper.
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