Discover and read the best of Twitter Threads about #ShortAssPlans
Most recents (24)
đź“Ł WOOT!! One of the best birthday presents I could ask for: @CMSGov throws out a bunch of Trump's rancid #NBPP2022 turkeys!!
acasignups.net/21/06/28/break…
acasignups.net/21/06/28/break…
Some of you may remember last winter I was freaking out trying to get people to post public comments opposing some last-minute time bombs that Trump's CMS Admin tried to plant on her way out the door.
The comment project was great but she shoved them through anyway....
The comment project was great but she shoved them through anyway....
...FORTUNATELY, the Biden Admin grabbed them and stopped them in their tracks anyway, and is now officially flushing them down the drain.
Last week SCOTUS saved the ACA; today CMS reversed some peripheral damage before it started. Mazel Tov to @SecBecerra & @BrooksLaSureCMS!
Last week SCOTUS saved the ACA; today CMS reversed some peripheral damage before it started. Mazel Tov to @SecBecerra & @BrooksLaSureCMS!
Good lord. The first 2 anti-expansion speakers during public comment are just spewing utter garbage.
The first Zoom speaker is claiming that if they expand Medicaid, it will somehow cause people to WANT to earn less so that they'll qualify for it. Which might make some sense if the rest of the ACA didn't exist for those who earn more, or if they could afford ANY coverage NOW.
The second Zoom speaker claims that Wyoming has crappy oversight over Medicaid waste/fraud/abuse, therefore they shouldn't expand it. Here's an idea: Expand it *and* improve your oversight process? Just spitballing here.
At 11:00am, the House @EnergyCommerce Committee will be holding marathon hearings on not one, not two, but *18* different healthcare bills which would repair & strengthen the #ACA, #Medicaid & #CHIP. Here's the first 9 on the agenda: acasignups.net/21/03/17/prepa…
#HR1790 would reverse the Trump Admin's decision to modify how ACA subsidies & maximum out of pocket expenses are calculated. The Trump version made subsidies weaker/costs higher; reversing it would make subsides stronger/costs lower.
📣🎉 The #ACAGoesTo11 TOMORROW...and #ACA 2.0 is on the way:
PART 1: A look at bills from Senators @MarkWarner, @SenatorBennet, @timkaine & @SenatorShaheen, all of which would (at the very least) lock in the #AmRescuePlan's subsidy expansion permanently, plus much more:
acasignups.net/21/03/17/prepa…
acasignups.net/21/03/17/prepa…
PART 2: A look at 9 bills in the House which would do everything from repairing Trump Admin sabotage of the #ACA's marketing, outreach & navigator budgets to requiring #ShortAssPlans to meet the same minimum requirements of other health insurance coverage:
acasignups.net/21/03/17/prepa…
acasignups.net/21/03/17/prepa…
Short version: The expanded subsidies in the #AmRescuePlan are fantastic, but are only for 2 yrs & only reduce premiums, not deductibles/co-pays. if @SenatorShaheen's #S499 becomes law, not only would that expansion be made *permanent*...
Cannon and I strongly disagree about his framing of CA banning #ShortAssPlans, but I agree that asking about actual healthcare POLICY decisions would make a hell of a lot more sense than whether or not Becerra is a doctor or not.
Tom Price is a doctor and he was a disaster.
Tom Price is a doctor and he was a disaster.
As for #ShortAssPlans in California, what Cannon is really talking about is availability of affordable individual market plans for those who earn too much to be eligible for #ACA subsidies.
This is a real problem, I agree. It's expected to be addressed in the short term by the #AmRescuePlan, and hopefully on a permanent basis via #HR369.
In California, they *partly* addressed the issue by adding their own ACA subsidies for those earning 400 - 600% FPL...
In California, they *partly* addressed the issue by adding their own ACA subsidies for those earning 400 - 600% FPL...
đź“Ł BOOM!! @POTUS Biden orders HC.gov enrollment re-opened starting 2/15 & MUCH more!
acasignups.net/21/01/28/boom-…
acasignups.net/21/01/28/boom-…
For starters, he's explicitly telling HC.gov to re-launch Open Enrollment from 2/15 - 5/15. This includes 36 states; another 3 states (NY, MD, MA) have already re-opened enrollment thru March.
HOWEVER, there's MUCH more good stuff as well! 2/
HOWEVER, there's MUCH more good stuff as well! 2/
Assuming I'm interpreting the XO correctly, it appears to include:
--Good riddance to Medicaid work requirements!
--Reversing Trump Admin's horrible 1332 waiver "definition" which lets states blow off patient protections
--Reversing Trump's flooding of the market w/#ShortAssPlans
--Good riddance to Medicaid work requirements!
--Reversing Trump Admin's horrible 1332 waiver "definition" which lets states blow off patient protections
--Reversing Trump's flooding of the market w/#ShortAssPlans
"The Trump presidency is over, and Obamacare is still alive" vox.com/policy-and-pol… via @voxdotcom
Before 11/08/16, I was secretly planning on shutting down (or at least mothballing) ACASignups.net as soon as the 4th #ACA Open Enrollment period was over. Traffic had been gradually dropping off as people got used to the ACA & it started to fade from the headlines.
My official day job as a website developer had suffered. What was supposed to have been a 6-month hobby in my spare time had turned into a full-time job, and I had lost web clients along the way. I figured it would be time to wind down ACA Signups & refocus on my web business.
đź“Ł Tonight is Christmas Eve, so here's a thread about a so-called "Christian Health Sharing Ministry" which dives into Inception-level surreality. 1/
"Health Sharing Ministries" (usually offered by "Christian" organizations but occasionally via non-Christian groups) are promoted as an alternative to actual health insurance policies. They've become much more popular since the #ACA became law because they're less expensive. 2/
HOWEVER, there's some REASONS why they're less expensive than #ACA-compliant policies:
"Although HCSMs are not insurance & DO NOT GUARANTEE PAYMENT OF CLAIMS, their features closely mimic traditional insurance products, possibly confusing consumers." 3/
commonwealthfund.org/publications/f…
"Although HCSMs are not insurance & DO NOT GUARANTEE PAYMENT OF CLAIMS, their features closely mimic traditional insurance products, possibly confusing consumers." 3/
commonwealthfund.org/publications/f…
đź“Ł The #COVID19 relief bill is finally here, and it includes some interesting #ACA-related provisions...
acasignups.net/20/12/21/covid…
acasignups.net/20/12/21/covid…
1. Detailed monthly #ACA exchange enrollment figures...for the Open Enrollment Period.
Head-scratcher. We already get an annual report & CMS cut OEP down to 6.5 wks anyway. I'd LOVE it to be monthly (off-season data is scarce) but this makes it sound like it only refers to OEP.
Head-scratcher. We already get an annual report & CMS cut OEP down to 6.5 wks anyway. I'd LOVE it to be monthly (off-season data is scarce) but this makes it sound like it only refers to OEP.
2. Looks like the Surprise Bill prohibition also applies to pre-#ACA "grandfathered" plans...which is a good thing, though only a few hundred thousand people are still enrolled in those at this point.
🚨 UPDATE: The Public Comment period for the #NBPP2022 starts *TOMORROW* (12/04) and only runs 26 days (instead of 30) thru 12/30...including Christmas.
We need to flood 'em w/comments to stop Trump from trying to kill HCgov on his way out the door.
acasignups.net/20/12/02/updat…
We need to flood 'em w/comments to stop Trump from trying to kill HCgov on his way out the door.
acasignups.net/20/12/02/updat…
The short version is this: Every year CMS issues a long, wonky document called the Notice of Benefit & Payment Parameters (NBPP), which is basically a bunch of tweaks to administrative details for the upcoming ACA Open Enrollment Period. 2/
Some of these are standard, like slightly bumping up the Maximum Out of Pocket cap for the following year. Some are good ideas, like adding a Special Enrollment Period for people who enrolled off-exchange but then have an income drop qualifing them for on-exchange subsidies. 3/
Hmmmmm...I haven’t written too much about her...I assumed @GovMLG would be the pick...
In 2018, @GovRaimondo signed an executive order to help lock in a lot of #ACA protections in light of the #TexasFoldEm lawsuit:
acasignups.net/18/09/27/rhode…
acasignups.net/18/09/27/rhode…
Last year she also proposed (and go through) both an #ACA reinsurance program *and* reinstatement of the individual mandate penalty to cut down unsubsidized premiums:
acasignups.net/19/01/20/rhode…
acasignups.net/19/01/20/rhode…
đź“Ł Since @NikkiHaley decided to remind everyone that @NeeraTanden's organization, @AmProg, produced a universal healthcare plan called "Medicare Extra for All", let's take a look at the plan (which was actually spearheaded by @TopherSpiro, I believe). 1/
acasignups.net/18/04/11/updat…
acasignups.net/18/04/11/updat…
Note: I wrote up my analysis of Medicare Extra for All (#MEFA) back in February 2018, and in May 2019 I wrote an analysis of the House bill largely based on it, #MedicareForAmerica, sponsored by @RosaDelauro & @RepSchakowsky. 2/
Full disclosure: From June 2019 - last month, I was contracted w/@AmProg to do part-time healthcare analysis. However, my analyses of both #MEFA & #MedicareForAmerica were done prior to this, and this thread is being written after my contract expired) 3/
This is something I've caught some heat from other healthcare advocates over.
I *hate* #ShortAssPlans & would prefer to ban them...but only *after* we #KillTheCliff & beef up the APTC formula. Until then they're a necessary evil, though they should be strongly discouraged.
I *hate* #ShortAssPlans & would prefer to ban them...but only *after* we #KillTheCliff & beef up the APTC formula. Until then they're a necessary evil, though they should be strongly discouraged.
ACA plans are affordable for those earning up to 200% FPL & for most earning 200-400% FPL, but are unaffordable for many earning >400% FPL due to the subsidy cut-off.
#ShortAssPlans suck, but until the 400% cut-off is removed, they're a kinda/sorta viable option for those folks.
#ShortAssPlans suck, but until the 400% cut-off is removed, they're a kinda/sorta viable option for those folks.
The ACTUAL solution is to #KillTheCliff, which @HouseDemocrats did in July & which is a core provision of #BidenCare...@dylanlscott's point is that if killing the 400% cut-off isn't doable, #ShortAssPlans may continue to be a necessary evil for some people.
This by @xpostfactoid is excellent. There may only be 10-11 million people enrolled in ACA exchange plans at any given time, but a good 14% of the U.S. population has been enrolled in them at some point in the past 7 years.
The irony of Trump pushing #ShortAssPlans so hard instead of ACA-compliment policies is that for millions of Americans, ACA policies THEMSELVES act as “short-term plans”. If you lose a job w/benefits in January and get another in October, guess what’s there for you in between?
One philosophical flaw with the ACA exchange concept was assuming that it would be more like the employer-based market (w/most enrollees sticking around year after year) instead of the Medicaid market (many enrollees moving in & out throughout the year).
đź“Ł THREAD: As I'm typing this, the U.S. House is debating #HR1425, aka the House #ACA2.0 bill (#ACEA). What does it include? LET'S DIVE IN! 1/
Here's my deep dive into #HR1425, the Patient Protection & Affordable Care *Enhancement* Act (#ACEA), which I've dubbed simply "#ACA2.0": 2/ acasignups.net/20/06/24/aca20…
📣 HEADS UP: House @EnergyCommerce Committee to grill @SeemaCMS on #ACASabotage this morning starting at 10am: acasignups.net/19/10/23/house…
Here we go: Opening statement by @RepDianaDeGette; overview of Trump Admin actions attempting to sabotage the #ACA. Ironically, it sounds like she might have a bit of a cold herself.
Opening statement by GOP ranking member @RepGuthrie; needless to say he's gushing with praise for Verma. As I explained yesterday, the "4% drop in premiums" for 2020 is a) misleading and b) is basically just a correction of carriers overestimating costs in 2017 & 2018.
đź“Ł This morning the Trump Admin issued a press release crowing about #ACA premiums dropping 4% thanks to their supposedly brilliant management.
I need to clear up a few things about this. 1/
I need to clear up a few things about this. 1/
First of all, it’s important to note that the 4% drop refers specifically to *benchmark Silver plans* only, and only includes 39 states. It also only includes exchange-based enrollment. These factors limit it to < 40% of total #ACA-compliant individual market enrollment. 2/
When you include *all* metal levels for *all* states both on & off-exchange, the weighted avg is ⬆️ 0.1% instead of ⬇️ 4.0%.
Obviously that’s still far better than double-digit increases, but it’s important to be as comprehensive & accurate as possible.
acasignups.net/rate-changes/2…
Obviously that’s still far better than double-digit increases, but it’s important to be as comprehensive & accurate as possible.
acasignups.net/rate-changes/2…
It took me all day to write this up, but here’s the short version: *subsidized* #ACA enrollment is *up* 1.7% since 2016, but *unsubsidized* is *down* 40%. #KillTheCliff #HR1868 cc: @LaurenUnderwood
acasignups.net/19/08/15/subsi…
acasignups.net/19/08/15/subsi…
See how the big manilla section in the middle has shrunk? Those are the 2.25 million unsubsidized enrollees (+250K unsubsidized on-exchange) who've dropped out of #ACA plans over the past 2 years as premiums have shot up. 2/
Avg. premiums jumped around 23% in 2017 & nearly 28% in 2018. The 2017 hikes were largely due to the federal #ACA reinsurance program sunsetting (it's since been reinstated in nearly a dozen states), but the 2018 hikes are mostly due *directly* to Trump Admin policies. 3/
(sigh) I’m not happy about this but I can’t argue with the judge’s reasoning too much. #ShortAssPlans *should* have been specifically restricted within the #ACA itself, but…they weren’t. That happened via an Obama XO a few years later, which is how Trump was able to reverse it.
Then bigger problem is that they’re being expanded in an environment in which there’s no longer any financial penalty for enrolling in them vs an ACA compliant plan.
CORRECTED HEADLINE:
“Nurse and freshman member of Congress introduces important bill to significantly improve ACA until universal coverage can be passed in the future”
#ACA2 isn’t an *alternative* to MFA, it’s an important stopgap to improve things in the short term.
“Nurse and freshman member of Congress introduces important bill to significantly improve ACA until universal coverage can be passed in the future”
#ACA2 isn’t an *alternative* to MFA, it’s an important stopgap to improve things in the short term.
#ACA2 is desperately needed for the next few years REGARDLESS of whether we eventually move to MFA, Med4Am or some other universal coverage program.
ACA2 could be fully implemented pretty much immediately, possibly even retroactively for some provisions. MFA or even Med4Am (which I support) will take several years to ramp up, so at least some ACA2 provisions would still be needed in the meantime.
🗣 THREAD: A Kinda, Sorta Deep Dive into the 2020 NBPP! acasignups.net/19/04/19/kinda…
The #NBPP2020 is a long, wonky document from CMS which basically lays out the rules for the 2020 #ACA Open Enrollment period. Most of it is basic stuff like setting the dates (Nov. 1 - Dec. 15th) and the like, but it also makes some tweaks to the subsidy formula and so forth. 1/
As you can imagine, some of these changes are pretty benign, but others will have big implications for #ACA enrollees in 2020. There's a total of 17 items on the list, a few of which I actually don't understand well enough to comment on, but let's take a look at the rest! 2/
⚠️ THREAD: When the dust settles on the 2019 Open Enrollment Period, total enrollments will likely be ~11.4M on exchange, plus perhaps 3M off-exchange. Of the 14.4M total, around 13M (90%) will actually pay their premiums. 1/
Of those 13M people, around 4.2 million will be unsubsidized & have to pay full price...and that full price will average around $49/month higher in 2019 than it would have been if Trump & the GOP hadn't repealed the individual mandate & opened the floodgates on #ShortAssPlans. 2/
This is the case even in states where 2019 premiums are *dropping* in 2019 (or staying flat)...they would have gone down *even more* without those changes. Many of the carriers have stated this specifically in rate filings, w/many including actuarial data to support it. 3/
THREAD: This morning, Trump's CMS Administrator, Seema Verma, posted a press release claiming that Trump Admin actions have "caused rates to drop for the first time." This is...stretching things, to put it mildly. 1/
acasignups.net/18/10/11/sigh-…
acasignups.net/18/10/11/sigh-…
2/ FIRST, the "1.5% drop" @SeemaCMS refers to only applies to on-exchange plans, only includes 39 states, and only applies to the benchmark plans. When you include all 50 states, all plans at all metal levels and off-exchange enrollees, it's +3.1%.
acasignups.net/rate-hikes/2019
acasignups.net/rate-hikes/2019
3/ SECOND, it's true that even +3.1% is still a lot smaller than prior years...which is why you have to look at WHY premiums increased so much for 2018 LAST year. About 60% of that ~27% increase was due SPECIFICALLY to Trump Admin actions: CSR cut-off + other assorted factors:
