Oregon receives waiver to implement reinsurance program

The departments of Health and Human Services and the Treasury today approved a Section 1332 waiver for Oregon to implement a five-year reinsurance program for its health insurance marketplace beginning in 2018. “The Departments have determined that implementation of this reinsurance program will lower individual market premiums in the state and the premium tax credits to which Oregon residents would have been entitled absent the waiver,” Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Seema Verma wrote in a letter announcing the waiver approval. HHS this year has approved similar waivers for Minnesota and Alaska. Under Section 1332 of the Affordable Care Act, states can apply for a waiver of certain ACA requirements but must demonstrate that the proposed waiver would provide access to quality health care that is at least as comprehensive and affordable as without the waiver, and coverage to at least a comparable number of residents.