Azar promises careful consideration of Idaho’s move to ease ACA requirements
HHS Secretary Alex Azar gingerly weighed in on Idaho’s efforts to reshape its individual market.
Testifying before the
Senate Finance Committee,
Azar did not lay out any specific steps to address Gov. Butch Otter’s goal of allowing insurers to offer plans that fail to comply with Affordable Care Act requirements as long as they also offer ACA-compliant plans. However, Azar promised to measure any waiver submitted by the state against “the standards of the law.”
“Idaho has to decide its own policy under its laws,” Azar told the committee’s ranking Democrat, Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, who raised the issue. “Anything that comes to us, I will work with you and be transparent, but I don’t want to be involved, before there is a controversy, at the state level.”
The state’s effort began at the start of 2018, just after repeal of the ACA’s individual mandate tax penalty, when Otter directed his insurance commissioner via executive order to come up with “creative” ways to expand options on the state exchanges.
The insurance commissioner then gave insurers permission to offer non-ACA compliant plans on the individual market. Blue Cross of Idaho last week responded by introducing five insurance plans that would cost up to 50% less than those now available on the exchanges. While they cover many of the ACA’s essential benefits, none cover pediatric dental or vision care and one lacks maternal health coverage. They also impose $1 million annual coverage limits.
GOP Sen. Mike Crapo said the state is trying to offer more options while not keeping people from ACA-compliant plans.
Legal experts from the right and left agreed that Idaho’s move breaks with current law and suggested that Blue Cross of Idaho could face lawsuits and federal penalties.