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On Thursday, March 8, the Trump Administration rejected Idaho’s plan to sell health plans that do not include the consumer protections required by the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The rejection came in the form of a letter touting adherence to current law, though in many ways the letter was written by an apologetic Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) wanting to appease Idaho Republicans.

Earlier this year, Idaho Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter signed an executive order that allowed some Idaho health insurance plans to drop certain ACA requirements. For example, plans would not need to cover maternity care, mental illness, or other essential health benefits; insurers could charge higher premiums to those with preexisting conditions; and insurers could deny people coverage if they had failed to maintain continuous coverage. Insurers who sold such “junk” plans would be required to also sell at least one ACA-compliant option over the exchanges. Gov. Otter’s actions seemed to test just how far Alex Azar, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, would go to support the “state experimentation” Mr. Azar himself advocated for under the exchanges, as discussed in our earlier post. The answer, for Idaho, is not far enough.
Continue Reading Trump Administration Rejects (Nicely) Idaho’s Attempt to Skirt ACA

First 100 Days LogoOn Tuesday, April 18, 2017, our Health Care Group will hold a webinar on the health care policy and transition challenges still at play as the Trump Administration nears the end of its 100 days in power.  During the webinar, participants will hear important insights and predictions on what a Trump-led Executive Branch will mean…

Two district courts[1] have recently stayed cases alleging that sex discrimination under ACA Section 1557 includes discrimination on the basis of gender identity and denial of coverage for gender transition, pending the Supreme Court’s decision in G.G. v. Gloucester County School Board.[2]  The Supreme Court accepted certiorari in Gloucester in October 2016 to determine the validity of recent Department of Education Title IX guidance regarding gender identity.  Briefing is currently under way.  The district courts stayed the Section 1557 cases, reasoning that the Supreme Court’s decision would likely determine the validity of the Department of Health & Human Services’ Section 1557 regulations on gender identity as well.

ACA Section 1557 and Title IX rules on sex discrimination

Section 1557 (42 U.S.C. § 18116) prohibits entities that receive federal funds for health activities or programs from discriminating on the grounds prohibited by Title IX.  Title IX generally prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex by recipients of federal education assistance.[3]  Title IX, however, permits federal fund recipients to set up “separate living facilities for the different sexes.”[4]  DOE and HHS regulations for Title IX, originally issued by the Department of Health, Education and Welfare, define sex in binary terms – “one sex” versus “the other sex”  —  and permit recipients to set up comparable but separate housing and “toilet, locker room, and shower facilities on the basis of sex.”[5]

The federal agency shift on sex discrimination:  from biological sex to gender identity

In the years prior to the enactment of the ACA, courts reached opposite conclusions as to whether Title IX and comparable sex discrimination laws, such as Title VII, prohibit discrimination based on gender identity.[6]  With the enactment of the ACA and Section 1557, suits began to be brought against health plans and providers which claimed that refusal to treat or cover services for transgender persons based on their gender identity constituted sex discrimination.  In one early Section 1557 decision from 2015, Rumble v. Fairview Health Services, a district court held that Section 1557 does provide a cause of action for discrimination based on gender identity.[7]
Continue Reading Waiting for the Supremes: High Court’s Decision in Gloucester County to Determine Validity of ACA Section 1557 Gender Identity and Transgender Services Rules

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a proposed rule  to stabilize the individual and small group markets to entice issuers to continue participation in the exchanges in 2018 despite continued uncertainty surrounding repeal and replacement proposals for the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The proposed rule, published today, would make the following changes to the individual and small group markets:

  • Open Enrollment: The proposed rule would shorten the Open Enrollment period from November 1, 2017 – January 31, 2018 to November 1, 2017 – December 15, 2017. This would align open enrollment for exchanges with both the employer market (including the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program) and Medicare Advantage open enrollment periods. CMS hopes that the modifications in enrollment period will mitigate adverse selection by requiring individuals to enroll in plans before the benefit year begins and pay premiums day 1 of the benefit year rather than allowing individuals who learn they will need services in late December and January to enroll at that time.
  • Special Enrollment Period: In response to perceived abuses of special enrollment periods (SEPs)—which allow individuals to enroll outside of the open enrollment period when there is a special circumstance (e.g., new family member)—the proposed rule would require verification of an individual’s SEP eligibility 100% of the time beginning in June 2017. Currently, eligibility for an SEP is verified only 50% of the time. Under pre-enrollment verification for new customers, consumers would submit their information and select a plan but their enrollment would be “pended” until completion of the verification. Consumers would have 30 days to submit information to verify their eligibility. The start date of the coverage would be (as it is today) the date of plan selection, but it wouldn’t be effective until the “pend” had been lifted following verification. The rule is limited to pre-enrollment verification of eligibility to individuals newly enroll through SEPs in marketplaces using the HealthCare.gov platform. The proposed rule would also limit certain individuals’ ability to switch to different levels of coverage during an SEP. The SEP provisions of the proposed rule may offer the most significant relief of all the proposed changes.
    Continue Reading HHS Proposes New Regulations Aimed At Stabilizing the Individual Market

On January 20, 2017, hours after being sworn in as the 45th president of the United States, President Donald Trump issued Executive Order 13765 that aims to “minimize the unwarranted economic and regulatory burdens” of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) while its repeal is “pending.” 

The one-page Executive Order declares that it is the policy …

On December 14, 2016, CMS issued an interim final rule with comment period to amend Medicare’s dialysis facility conditions for coverage to require certain disclosures to patients and health insurance issuers to address widespread concerns over inappropriate steerage of dialysis patients to individual market plans. After issuing an RFI about “inappropriate steering of people eligible…

On December 5, 2016, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit issued an order to stay  the administration’s appeal of the district court decision in U.S. House of Representatives v. Burwell, a case challenging Cost-Sharing Reduction (“CSR”) payments to health insurance issuers under the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) Section 1402. The district…

California recently enacted Assembly Bill 72 (“AB 72”) to target surprise medical bills from out-of-network professionals.  The new law applies to commercial plans licensed by the Department of Managed Health Care and the Department of Insurance.  AB 72 sets reimbursement rates for out-of-network professionals at in-network facilities at either the average contracted rate, or 125…

The Government Accountability Office (GAO), in a letter to members of Congress, found that the implementation of the Transitional Reinsurance Program by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) violates the Affordable Care Act.

The Transitional Reinsurance Program is one of three premium stabilization programs authorized by the Affordable Care Act (ACA),…

On August 18, 2016, CMS issued a request for information on “inappropriate steering of people eligible for Medicare or Medicaid into Marketplace plans” by third parties. CMS voiced concern over “anecdotal reports” that Medicaid or Medicare eligibles received premium and cost-sharing assistance from third parties so they could enroll in Marketplace plans, enabling providers to receive higher reimbursement rates. In November 2013, CMS had issued guidance discouraging third-party payment of premiums because it has the propensity to “skew the insurance risk pool and create an unlevel field in the Marketplaces.” Almost three years later, it appears that CMS has determined that more decisive action may be necessary.

In July, UnitedHealthcare filed suit against American Renal Associates LLC in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida (complaint), alleging ARA violated Florida’s deceptive and unfair trade practices act, fraud, unjust enrichment, conspiracy, and other causes of action. The suit alleges that ARA coordinated with the American Kidney Foundation to pay premiums of low-income enrollees to switch from government health care programs to private insurance coverage. The suit alleges that by steering enrollees from Medicaid and Medicare to private insurance, ARA was able to increase billing from about $300 to $4,000 for the same services. The complaint also alleges that ARA did not collect copayments or deductibles from the enrollees after covering their premiums for private insurance and so committed negligent misrepresentation and tortious interference with a contract by misrepresenting the charges of claims submitted to UnitedHealthcare.Continue Reading CMS Renews Focus on Third-Party Payment of Insurance Premiums Steering Medicaid & Medicare Eligibles into Marketplace Plans