Jan 25, 2017 - Health

Don't worry — the insurance industry has a plan

Giphy

America's Health Insurance Plans, the main industry trade group, seems to be making peace with the idea that the individual mandate is going away. So it's proposing a form of "continuous coverage," an idea that's also in a lot of Republican replacement plans — where people would only be guaranteed coverage for pre-existing conditions if they keep themselves insured.

In a statement to the House Ways and Means oversight subcommittee Tuesday, AHIP suggested designing the plan this way: Everyone would have a chance to sign up for insurance during 2018 open enrollment, and after that, they'd have to stay insured for 12 months. If they don't, they'd either pay higher premiums when they do sign up, or they'd have to wait six months to enroll — which is how it works with Medicare Part B and D.

Go deeper