Blame Insurers, Not Trump, For Shorter Obamacare Sign-Up Period – By Bruce Japsen (forbes.com) / Dec 16 2017
President Trump is taking heat for not extending Friday’s deadline for signing up for individual coverage under the Affordable Care Act on the federal exchange as tens of thousands of Americans rushed to sign up for health insurance.
But it was the health insurance industry that wanted smaller windows for Americans to sign up for coverage and endorsed the Trump administration’s decision to cut the sign-up period in half, to Nov. 1 through Dec. 15. Before Trump administration changes, the signup period would’ve continued until Jan. 31.
Insurers said earlier this year and even during the Obama presidency that their actuaries need to know who is paying the premiums, their health issues, ages and other characteristics to manage premiums and expenses that are paid in claims from risk pools. Allowing additional special sign-up periods and a longer open enrollment period that extends into January messes with insurer risk planning and allows people to sign up after they get sick.
In making the proposed change, the Trump administration said the shorter open enrollment period could “improve the risk pool because it would reduce opportunities for adverse selection by those who learn they will need services in late December and January; and will encourage healthier individuals who might have previously enrolled in partial year coverage after Dec. 15 to instead enroll in coverage for the full year.” The proposed rule was issued in February.
The move to a shorter open enrollment was among the moves made by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services after Trump took office. And it was endorsed by the health insurance industry. “We commend the administration for proposing these regulatory actions as Congress considers other critical actions necessary to help stabilize and improve the individual market for 2018,” Marilyn Tavenner, CEO of America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), the powerful health insurance lobby, said in February.
AHIP represents many insurers who provide ACA-compliant coverage including Anthem, Centene, Cigna, Oscar Health and myriad Blue Cross Blue Shield plans.
Though open enrollment ended for those signing up via healthcare.gov, there’s still more time for “nine other state exchanges, as well as the one in the District of Columbia, which have deadlines later than Dec. 15,” as Charles Gaba, who runs the popular website ACAsignups.net, points out in a new report.
PB/TK – There are quite a few reasons as too why people would blame POTUS Donnie for Obamacare’s short sign up period and it begins with his verbal hatred for the program. Secondly, people believe a POTUS has the magic pen to sign an EO on anything they desire, however Congress does have the power to override any EO. Lastly, big money speaks and turns the politician mute
