AHA comments on draft guidance for 2018 qualified health plans

The AHA today offered recommendations for improving the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ 2018 draft letter to issuers of qualified health plans in federally facilitated marketplaces, focusing on the auto-reenrollment process, network adequacy and essential community provider provisions. Among other comments, Ashley Thompson, AHA senior vice president for public policy analysis and development, asked CMS to develop a standard process for accepting feedback from stakeholders on auto-reenrollment when a consumer’s insurer is no longer selling plans on the Health Insurance Marketplace; further protect enrollees from unexpected medical bills from out-of-network providers at in-network facilities; and continue to allow issuers to write in essential community providers. The association also urged CMS to clarify that it expects issuers to accept agreements or attestations to participate in the Hospital Improvement Innovation Networks as evidence of meeting the patient safety standards. AHA focused on additional issues in its previous comments on the proposed rule for 2018 QHPs.