ACA MARKETPLACE PROPOSED RULES
The NDNRC wants to make sure that people with disabilities (PWDs) are aware of potential changes to their healthcare with the new administration taking office. The disability community utilizes Medicaid and the ACA (Affordable Care Act) Marketplace plans at a higher rate than those without disabilities due to their unique needs.
By updating this newsletter with resources and educational pieces on where disability health policies stand, we hope to ensure that the disability community continues to have access to accessible and affordable healthcare coverage no matter what changes occur in the foreseeable future.
Please submit comments on the proposed ACA changes through the Federal Register by April 11!
A proposed ACA Marketplace rule will increase costs for many individuals and decrease access to quality healthcare coverage. Health Affairs released a Part 1 and Part 2 breakdown of each change that would restrict the Marketplace as it relates to eligibility, enrollment, and affordability.
These issues will also be made worse by Navigator funding cuts and the expiration of enhanced premium tax credits, where Congress has instead opted to provide tax breaks for billionaires.
Other concise breakdowns include the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities on how these rules would raise healthcare costs for millions of families alongside a series of various policy debates.
The American Association on Health and Disability (AAHD) plans to submit comments on what major proposals will directly affect people with disabilities, which are as follows:
- Past-Due Premiums
- Would allow insurers to require enrollees to pay back any previously unpaid premiums before coverage takes effect
- Limited Open Enrollment (OE) Periods/Annual Open Enrollment Periods
- Would shorten OE to November 1 to December 15
- Verifying Income Eligibility
- Would add new requirements for individuals to verify income eligibility for financial assistance
- Verifying Eligibility for Special Enrollment Periods (SEP)
- Would add new requirement for individuals to prove their eligibility for SEPs
- Elimination of Low-Income SEP
- Would eliminate SEP that exists for those with incomes below 150% FPL
- Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals
- Would no longer be “lawfully present” and therefore would be ineligible for financial assistance for a marketplace plan
- Prohibition on Coverage of Sex-trait Modification as an Essential Health Benefit (EHB)
- Would no longer be considered an EHB thereby no longer subjecting it to cost-sharing and most likely increasing out-of-pocket costs for transgender individuals
The NDNRC urges advocates, researchers, policy experts, and those with lived experience or a relationship to disability to submit comments by April 11 on these changes. AAHD created a comment guide that covers plain language, steps on submitting a comment, and other recommendations.
AAHD and the NDNRC want to address serious issues about the reorganization of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which includes the Administration for Community Living (ACL). ACL provides funding for centers for independent living, serving as a major support system for people with disabilities. More of the statements can be read on the AAHD website, as well as a statement from FamiliesUSA.
An important reminder on the positive impacts of Marketplace enrollment would be that the Marketplace enrollment has more than doubled in the last 5 years, specifically showing that there were over 24.3 million people enrolled in the Marketplace thanks to enhanced subsidies from the American Rescue Plan Act in 2021 and the Inflation Reduction Act.
Make sure to submit comments by April 11 to preserve and protect the ACA; we can ensure that continuous, accessible, and affordable coverage continues for all people with disabilities!
Archives of our weekly updates are available on the NDNRC website.