[WASHINGTONEXAMINER] Republican Gov. John Kasich of Ohio and Democrat Gov. John Hickenlooper of Colorado on Thursday unveiled a plan to fix Obamacare's exchanges that includes injecting new funds into the controversial law.
| No, thank you. That would just delay the inevitable while costing pots of money. |
The plan calls for Congress to create a temporary stability fund that states can use for a reinsurance program, which reimburses insurers for major losses.
The governors don't give an exact figure for the stability fund. But they pointed to a recent failed Obamacare repeal bill that would have given states $15 billion a year to address issues in Obamacare's individual marketplaces.
"We recommend funding the program for at least two years and fully offsetting the cost so it does not add to the deficit," according to the letter outlining the plan. The letter was sent a week before Congress returns and starts work on a bipartisan stabilization plan.
The Kasich-Hickenlooper plan also aims to boost rural insurer competition by exempting the health insurance tax for any insurer that offers plans in counties that have only one carrier. It would allow residents to buy into the Federal Employee Benefit Program, which gives rural residents the same healthcare access that federal workers get. |