HealthAffairs – Katie Keith 10/13/2021

This post summarizes those recent developments, including three states transitioning to state-based marketplaces for 2022 and new Section 1332 waiver developments. The latter topic area includes new comment periods on waiver extension requests, evaluation reports for three states, and Colorado’s request for a waiver amendment.

On October 4, 2021, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that Kentucky, Maine, and New Mexico were approved to transition from HealthCare.gov to their own state-based marketplaces beginning with the 2022 plan year

• Hawaii And Other Waiver Extension Requests
• Colorado’s Waiver Amendment Request For Public Option Plans
• Section 1332 Evaluation Reports For Alaska, Minnesota, And Oregon

the programs in Alaska and Minnesota led to double-digit premium reductions for the relevant bronze, silver, and gold plans (relative to what premiums would have been in the absence of the waiver). The largest premium savings were realized by unsubsidized enrollees which led to higher enrollment of about 2,800 people in Alaska and about 66,000 people in Minnesota.