Insurance Commissioners Give Biden Their Recommendations 

Eleven state insurance commissioners banded together to give ACA policy recommendations to President-elect Joe Biden. California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara says these state health insurance initiatives would bring immediate relief to many Americans affected by the COVID-19 crisis, allow states to strengthen health insurance markets, remove discriminatory barriers to health coverage, protect Americans with pre-existing conditions, and ensure comprehensive health insurance access to all Americans.
 
Immediate Policy Recommendations

• Ensure immediate access Healthcare.gov through a special enrollment period 
• Provide immediate relief from ACA subsidy clawbacks created by COVID-19 uncertainty
• Provide clarity on coverage requirements for COVID-19 testing, especially regarding tests that are ordered as part of state-based contact tracing 
• Partner with states to address historically marginalized communities
• Address problematic elements of the recently proposed Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters (NBPP) for Plan Year 2022
• Allow states to apply for ACA innovation waivers beyond reinsurance

Longer-Term Policy Priorities

• Reverse policies, such as the weakening of non-discrimination protections and the public charge rule
• Encourage individuals and small businesses to enroll in ACA programs, and stop encouraging enrollment in insurance plans that do not provide the ACA’s most critical consumer protections
• Improve income counting rules to give consumers more flexibility 
• Extend premium tax credits to Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients
• Modernize Dept. of Labor oversight of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act so that all health insurance coverage is held to similar standards
• Consider a national reinsurance program to stabilize health insurance markets and make health insurance coverage more affordable

Insurance commissioners in these states developed the recommendations: California, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Michigan, Minnesota, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Washington, and Wisconsin.