A federal agency has approved a five-year extension of the waiver to help keep premiums low for Marylanders who purchase health insurance through the state’s insurance marketplace known as the Maryland Health Connection.
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A federal agency has approved a five-year extension of the waiver to help keep premiums low for Marylanders who purchase health insurance through the state’s insurance marketplace known as the Maryland Health Connection.
According to a news release this week from Health Connection, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Treasury have approved an extension of the exemption period for state reinsurance programs that work to keep costs down for people who purchase their own health insurance. It is said that insurance.
To keep health insurance premiums low for people who purchase individual insurance plans in Maryland, we need exemptions from certain regulations in the Affordable Care Act. Federal approval means the reinsurance program can continue until at least December 31, 2028. Without approval, the program will end in December 2023.
“Maryland’s reinsurance program has been very successful in maintaining affordable rates for everyone buying personal insurance in Maryland, whether on or off the exchange,” said Maryland. Insurance Commissioner Kathleen A. Virane said in a written statement. “It has played a particularly important role in stabilizing premiums for Marylanders who are not eligible for subsidies.”
Federal approval was “technically required as an ‘innovation exemption’ under section 1332 of the Patient Protection and Healthcare Expenses Act of 2010,” according to a news release from the Maryland Health Connection.
“This program covers a portion of the costs of medical insurance companies that serve Maryland Health Connection. Most of the funding comes from the federal government. will be funded through the evaluation of ,” the news release explains.
The decision was transaction It was the governor at the time. Larry Hogan, a Republican, reached out to Democratic legislative leaders in 2018 amid threats that Marylanders’ health insurance premiums were about to skyrocket. This assessment is effectively a tax on the insurance company. reauthorized by law During the 2022 General Assembly.Hogan was never admitted He argued that the valuation essentially amounted to a tax increase.
Nearly 93.9% of Marylanders had insurance through Medicaid or a private insurance company that year, according to 2022 data from the Maryland Health Benefits Exchange. Still, in 2022, about 369,000 (6.1%) Marylanders had no health insurance.
The Maryland Health Connection reported that Maryland offered the third-cheapest monthly health insurance in the nation this year, at $472 on average. Utah and New Hampshire had lower average monthly health insurance premiums of $431 and $469, respectively. This is based on data from Medicare and Medicaid Service Centers.
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