GAMA International Journal January-February 2014 - 11

Wash ington Watch

What's Hot
Why It Matters
As Congress debates deficit reduction and tax reform, policymakers must consider the
potential negative effect of changes that would make it more difficult and expensive for
people to achieve financial and retirement security for themselves and their families.
And health insurers say a delay in the expected influx of new insureds - particularly
among the young and robust - could threaten premium structures in future years.
Congress Readies for Next Fiscal Issues Deadline - Tax Reform in Play
Conferees of the special appointed House-Senate conference committee to resolve the
differences between the fiscal year (FY) 2014 House and Senate spending plans are
seeking ways to reach an agreement on FY 2014 funding for the federal government
by Jan. 15, 2014. The conference is also trying to fashion a budget agreement that
would stave off another debt-limit crisis - a hike in the debt limit will be necessary
soon after authority for increased borrowing runs out on Feb. 7 2014. In addition, the
,
committee is discussing whether to include tax or entitlement reform provisions.
There remains a divide between Republicans and Democrats on the budget issues,
but both parties would like to see an agreement that includes instructions to do tax
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reform and some entitlement reform. There is disagreement over whether tax reform

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Health Insurers Warn Against Delay in Obamacare's Individual Mandate

should raise revenue to allocate to deficit reduction, or to pay in part for replacing
sequester-mandated across-the-board spending cuts. Further, the GOP favors and
Democrats are open to enacting certain entitlement reforms, but so far Democrats have
refused to consider entitlement reform proposals without accompanying new revenue.
The GOP opposes any kind of new tax.

America's Health Insurance Plans and the Blue Cross-Blue Shield Association oppose
an ever-increasing number of calls for delay in the Affordable Care Act (ACA)
individual mandate or extension of its first open-enrollment period.
The current open-enrollment period will last until March 31, 2014, but the federal
website, healthcare.gov, where individuals and small businesses can shop for qualified
health insurance plans, has posed many problems. Some congressional Democrats
have joined in the GOP call to grant individuals an extension on their deadline for
signing up before having to pay the penalty for failing to carry qualified health
insurance. The insurers and administration agree that the delay would hurt the
program because with the new requirements limiting the use of pre-existing conditions
and other traditional underwriting factors, new, younger, healthier insureds are
necessary to keep prices from spiking as a result of an insurance pool top-heavy with
less healthy individuals making more claims.
The latest flap is over millions of Americans who have received cancellation notices
for low-premium policies that did not qualify under the ACA's minimum-essentialbenefit rules. Now the administration is allowing those affected to get such a policy
again or even go without any policy under a hardship exemption, adding to the
confusion and drawing complaints from insurers about not having enough full-fledged
policies in force to balance claims by people with pre-existing conditions.
©

2014 naiFa. excerpted with permission.
january/february 2014

GAMA International Journal January-February 2014

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