Manatt’s Joel Ario, a managing director with Manatt Health, spoke with Health Plan Week on how Oklahoma’s failed 1332 waiver could impact similar efforts in other states. While Oklahoma anticipated a timely go-ahead for its state reinsurance program—which would have cut individual market premium rates by 32% and covered thousands more uninsured residents—the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services failed to approve the waiver on time.
In Minnesota, the CMS approved the state’s waiver application but barred a second layer of federal savings related to MinnesotaCare, the state’s Basic Health Plan. Oregon submitted a waiver application on Aug. 31, and is next in line to have its application reviewed.
Ario told the publication that the outcome for Oregon’s request is anyone’s guess, despite various state waiver applications involving similar takes on reinsurance programs. “I think the common thread [for Oklahoma and Minnesota] is that in both cases they worked closely with CMS and were told they could rely on what they filed—and the message changed abruptly at the end for both of them,” said Ario.
Health Plan Week also cited Ario’s byline on Health Affairs Blog, “Failure to Approve Oklahoma Waiver Undermines Trust Between HHS and States,” which can be read here.