January 15, 2021 Associated Press
ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia's plan to
overhaul how state residents buy health insurance under the Affordable Care Act
would “tear a hole” in the ACA, “eviscerating” its achievements, a federal
lawsuit says.
Under the plan, Georgia would be the
first state to bypass the HealthCare.gov website and instead offer
federally subsidized health insurance through private agents. Their sites would
allow consumers to simultaneously see plans that don’t provide all the benefits
required by the ACA — President Barack Obama’s signature health law.
The Trump administration approved the
proposal last year.
The move to private brokers and
insurers would decrease enrollment, shift consumers to junk insurance plans
that provide inadequate coverage and increase premiums, the lawsuit filed
Thursday in U.S. District Court in Washington says. The plaintiffs are two
Atlanta-based groups — Planned Parenthood Southeast and Feminist Women's Health
Center —, and the suit names the U.S. Treasury and Health and Human Services
departments as defendants.
HHS declined comment.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp’s
administration has said private websites will provide better service and offer
more options that will boost insurance coverage in the state.
Critics worry the move will make it
harder to shop for insurance and drive healthy people to cheaper plans that
provide limited coverage, increasing insurance premiums for older and sicker
people who need the comprehensive benefits required by the ACA.
The lawsuit says the plan violates
the ACA, and the Trump administration failed to follow required administrative
procedures before approving it. It seeks a court order invalidating the
approval.
Passed in 2010, the ACA extended
insurance coverage to millions of Americans by expanding Medicaid and
subsidizing premiums for individuals and families who make up to four times the
federal poverty level. Georgia has separately received permission for a limited
Medicaid expansion.
The move away from Healthcare.gov would
occur in 2023. A year before that, the state would implement another part of
its ACA plan that would pay a portion of insurance companies’ costs to treat
their sickest patients, a relatively small group that incurs the biggest bills.
The so-called reinsurance program would allow the companies to lower monthly
premiums for all customers, a particular benefit for those who don’t qualify
for
The lawsuit does not contest that
part of the plan.
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