Policy and Regulation News

Iowa Withdraws 1332 Waiver for Insurance Market Stabilization

The state cited issues with 1332 waiver flexibility as the main reason for pulling its application for a stopgap insurance market stabilization initiative.

Iowa pulls 1332 state innovation waiver for stabilization program

Source: Thinkstock

By Thomas Beaton

- Iowa Insurance Commissioner Doug Ommen has withdrawn his state’s application for a 1332 waiver to stabilize its insurance markets in 2018.  

The proposed stopgap measure  included a single, standardized plan available to every eligible Iowa consumer, flat per-member per-month premium credits based on age and income, and a reinsurance program to support high-cost claims for participating payers.

The plan was intended to benefit 72,000 individuals who may have issues with the current affordability of individual plans.

State officials who headed the development of the stopgap measure cited a lack of flexible funding and strict 1332 rules as the main reasons for withdrawal.

“The Stopgap Measure was an innovative solution to help thousands of Iowans. Unfortunately, 1332 waiver rules are so inflexible that the Stopgap cannot be approved under terms that would be workable for Iowa,” Governor Kim Reynolds said in a press release following the withdrawal.  

Reynolds and other officials told consumers that they can still enroll in ACA individual plans through healthcare.gov with Medica plans, the only state carrier of these plans.