PPACA risk mitigation programs evaluated
By Javier Sanabria
Adrian Clark and Jim O’Connor assessed the three risk mitigation programs—risk adjustment, reinsurance, and risk corridors—established by drafters of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). Here is an excerpt courtesy of LifeHealthPro.com:
“Risk mitigation programs appear to reduce financial risks to health plans,” the actuaries write. “At the same time, overly restrictive premium rate limitations can lead to high federal risk corridor payments.”
If plans do not charge premiums that are high enough to meet claims and expenses, “federal payments under the risk corridor programs will be high to compensate partially for the inadequate premiums,” the actuaries say.
“The impact of inadequate rates on a health plan’s financial viability should also be considered. This result stresses the need for the rate review process to not only guard against unduly high premiums, but also to ensure that premiums are not set too low. This is especially important in 2017 and beyond, after the expiration of the risk corridor program.”
Plans in states with fewer coverage rules today might need bigger increases than plans in other states, the actuaries say.”
The study, commissioned by the Society of Actuaries (SOA), can be found here.
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