Trump Admin Seeks to Limit Health Benefits by Increasing State Flexibility

In reaction to the release of the proposed Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters Rule for 2019, which marks the first significant rulemaking by the Trump Administration on the future of the Affordable Care Act's qualified health plans on the Marketplace, Carl Schmid, Deputy Executive Director of The AIDS Institute issued the following statement:

"In an effort to increase state flexibility, the Trump Administration is proposing to allow states to select less generous essential health benefits, thus allowing insurance plans to offer fewer health benefits to their patients. This is not the answer to improving the ACA or health care in our country.

"While we are pleased that important patient protections are being retained, we are concerned with the prospect of a national prescription drug benefit standard being proposed in the future. If it is an expansive one that meets all patient's needs, this can be beneficial. However, if it severely limits drug choices and denies patients access to necessary medications that their providers prescribe, we would strongly oppose it.

"We also look forward to HHS' proposal to reduce drug costs and promoting drug cost transparency. Insurance plans are increasingly making it harder for beneficiaries to obtain their drugs due to increased deductibles and high co-insurance. One way to increase drug price transparency is to require insurance plans to list the actual dollar amount beneficiaries must pay when plans use co-insurance. Currently, patients have no idea how much they have to pay in advance for their drug when, for example, there is a 50 percent coinsurance.

"The AIDS Institute, dedicated to supporting and protecting health care access for people living with HIV/AIDS, hepatitis, and other chronic and serious health conditions, looks forward to discussing with other patient groups the impact the proposed rule would have on patient access to quality and affordable healthcare, and submitting comments to HHS by November 27th. Regrettably, due to the very short comment period, there is little time to conduct a comprehensive review and analysis on such a significant rulemaking."

For more information, visit www.TheAIDSInstitute.org