CMS Cuts ACA Advertising By 90 Percent Amid Other Cuts To Enrollment Outreach

On August 31, 2017, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that it intends to cut Affordable Care Act advertising from the $100 million spent by the Obama administration in 2016 for the 2017 open enrollment period by 90 percent to about $10 million this year for the 2018 open enrollment. CMS also announced that it intends to cut navigator grants from $62.5 million in 2016 by about 40 percent to $36.8 million for 2017. It also intends to tie grants to navigator programs for 2017 to their having met enrollment goals during 2016. The administration’s announcement must be understood in context. The Affordable Care Act created “American Health Benefit Exchanges” which were intended to certify qualified health plans to participate in the individual and small group markets, determine eligibility for financial assistance for individuals and small employers, provide a platform for comparison shopping among health plans to promote insurer competition and consumer choice, and enroll individuals and small groups in health plans in coverage. The ACA assumed that exchanges (sometimes called marketplaces) would be operated by the states, but in the event that a state declined to operate an exchange, assigned the task of operating the exchanges to the Department of Health and Human Services. At this time, the federal exchange platform, HealthCare.gov serves 39 states, including five states that have state exchanges. An additional 12 states fully operate their ow...
Source: Health Affairs Blog - Category: Health Management Authors: Tags: Following the ACA Insurance and Coverage Source Type: blogs