Health Plan Weekly

As it marked the 14th anniversary of the Affordable Care Act, the Biden administration in recent days announced several new steps that aim to build on the Medicaid coverage gains achieved by the ACA — and reduce the coverage losses due to Medicaid redeterminations.  

On March 27, CMS finalized a rule that aims to streamline eligibility and enrollment processes for Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) beneficiaries. Among other provisions, the rule prohibits states from conducting coverage eligibility renewals any more frequently than 12 months apart.  

Recent reports from Wall Street analysts are shining a spotlight on challenges faced by UnitedHealth Group and Humana Inc., which are major players in the Medicare Advantage market. In particular, the authors cited increased utilization and potential lower reimbursement as reasons for pessimism, and they said they would be closely watching what insurers say during their upcoming first-quarter earnings calls.   

Analysts’ concerns echo the sentiments that UnitedHealth and Humana executives expressed during their fourth-quarter earnings calls in January. However, it remains to be seen whether these are short-term trends or will continue for a longer period of time.  

Litigation against health plans over alleged mental health parity violations has proliferated in recent years, with judges notably ruling in favor of UnitedHealth Group and against Elevance Health, Inc. Things may get even more complicated with the Biden administration likely to propose more mental health parity regulation this year, according to attorneys from Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP. 

Mental health parity rules, which rely on statutes including the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 (MHPAEA) and the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, require health plans to cover behavioral health and substance use disorder (SUD) treatment at the same level as medical/surgical benefits. 

More than 21.4 million people have signed up or were automatically re-enrolled in Affordable Care Act marketplace coverage during the 2024 open enrollment period, a 31% increase compared to 2023 OEP, according to CMS.

About 16.4 million people enrolled through HealthCare.gov in the 32 states that use that platform, and another 5.1 million enrolled across 18 states and the District of Columbia, which use their own marketplaces. More than 5.2 million people signed up for marketplace coverage for the first time, a 41% increase compared to 3.7 million during the 2023 OEP.

Every state except Maine saw membership growth in 2024, ranging from 0.2% in the District of Columbia to 80.2% in West Virginia. From 2023 to 2024, 44 of the 51 states reported signup increases of at least 10%, and seven states saw surges of more than 50%. Compared to 2021, marketplace enrollment increased over 150% in six states: Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Texas and West Virginia.

HHS and the Labor and the Treasury departments on March 28 released final rules pertaining to short-term, limited-duration (STLDI) health plans. Those plans will be limited to last no more than four months, compared to up to three years under the previous rules. The rules will also require issuers of STLDIs “to include a clear, easy-to-understand consumer notice on marketing, application, enrollment, and reenrollment materials, so that consumers can make informed coverage purchasing decisions.” The departments called STLDI plans “junk insurance” and noted they are not subject to consumer protections enacted in the Affordable Care Act, including guaranteeing coverage for people with preexisting conditions. 

Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), the ranking member of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, sent a letter on March 25 to UnitedHealth Group CEO Andrew Witty requesting information about the ongoing cyberattack on Change Healthcare, a UnitedHealth subsidiary. Raskin inquired about details such as what data may have been exposed and what policies UnitedHealth has in place to prevent an attack, and he asked Witty to respond to the 12 questions in writing by April 8. Meanwhile, Reuters reported that UnitedHealth said on March 22 that it would start processing its medical claims backlog of more than $14 billion.