Bloomberg BNA quoted Manatt's Deborah Bachrach, a partner in the firm's Healthcare practice, and Joel Ario, a managing director with Manatt Health Solutions, for an article on an ACA provision that takes effect in 2017.
Bloomberg BNA reports that the ACA has been immensely controversial but a provision that takes effect in 2017 may be embraced by both red and blue states.
"There's virtually no state that you talk to that doesn't say, 'I'm definitely going to do a 1332 waiver,'" said Bachrach, referring to state "innovation waivers" under the ACA that could be used to apply for exemptions from major provisions of the law, including the individual and employer mandates, health insurance exchanges, certification requirements for qualified health plans and requirements that individual and small group plans cover "essential health benefits."
The waivers could be applied to a wide range of policies. Vermont was considering applying for a waiver to set up a "single-payer" government-run health care system until Gov. Peter Shumlin (D) decided in December 2014 against proposing the plan. Utah, which was one of two states to operate a small business health insurance exchange before the ACA, might use the waiver option to privatize its exchange and just conduct eligibility reviews for people who qualify for federal subsidies, said Ario.