Insurers: buckle up for a dynamic open enrollment period. While the summer was somewhat quiet on all things Affordable Care Act-related, things are about to heat up, one expert predicts.
For starters, there's hardly any valid claims data yet, so insurers have little information from which to base their 2015 rates, consultant Robert Laszewski writes in Healthcare Payer News.
In fact, actuaries recommend that companies with unsuccessful plans lower their rates in order to gain traction in the market, considering they have nothing to lose--the reinsurance program makes up for their losses, notes the article.
Then there's the ongoing issue that is HealthCare.gov. Many critical parts required for the site to run effectively are still missing, as FierceHealthPayer has reported. If the operating system fails to deliver accurate information, federal officials cannot determine precisely how many people enrolled in coverage.
Back in June, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services proposed a new rule to take effect in 2015 that would automatically renew customers' current marketplace plans unless people opt out of them.
But it's most likely these individuals will have to go to the exchange website and re-enroll, notes Healthcare Payer News. One of the reasons is plans' price changes. If consumers don't re-enroll, they will have no way of knowing the impact on cost, which could lead to unfortunate surprises when they receive their bills.
For more:
- here's the Healthcare Payer News article