CMS announces risk corridor payments, charges for 2016 benefit year

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services yesterday announced the risk corridors payments and charges for health insurance issuers for benefit year 2016. The temporary risk corridors program, which began in 2014 and ran through 2016, transfers funds from qualified health plans that earned more than a certain threshold in profit in the health insurance exchanges to QHPs that experienced financial losses beyond a specified threshold. All collections for the 2016 benefit year will be used to pay a portion of remaining 2014 claims, which exceeded collections for that benefit year. CMS is collecting 2016 risk corridor charges this month and expects to begin remitting payments to issuers in January.