NAIC Urges Caution in HIX Regulations

NAIC also raised concerns that a second provision, written to ensure a level playing field, could in fact upend state consumer protection laws if the multistate plans are exempted from state regulation. "Healthcare delivery system varies greatly from one state to another and within a state, and these variations give rise to different consumer protection issues," the letter said.

"Exempting Multi-State Plans from the additional consumer protections a state has put in place will confuse consumers, leave some consumers with less protection than others and result in an unlevel playing field that could give the largest insurers additional competitive advantages in the marketplace, thereby undermining the goal of the PPACA to create more competition in health insurance markets and strengthen consumer protection."

If OPM exempts a plan from applicable state regulation, by extension it also exempts all other plans – both in and out of an Exchange - from those same regulations, leaving a regulatory vacuum, NAIC said.

See Also:
HHS Unveils Proposed HIX Rules
Stakeholders React to Proposed HIX Rules
5 HIX Challenges for Health Insurers