The Hill reports that a gaggle of Democratic Senators will be introducing a modification to PPACA shortly.
The first bill from the group of Democrats would add a new, cheaper option, a copper plan, to ObamaCare’s existing menu of platinum, gold, silver and bronze plans. The bill also seeks to spur competition in the marketplaces by restoring funding to nonprofit healthcare co-ops.
The copper plan has been floating in the proposal space for a while. It has been pushed by Sen. Mark Begich of Alaska for the past six months. On a technical level, it is a feasible idea. On a policy and political level, I’m not so sure. Let’s look at the details first and then do some analysis:
v Adds a new copper level of coverage to the metallic tiers of qualified health plans for 2015 plan years;
v The copper plans will feature a 50 percent actuarial value, ensuring that, on average, at least half of medical costs of covered services will be paid by the insurer;
v Like other metallic tiers, individuals and families purchasing copper plans within the Marketplace can qualify for premium and cost-sharing subsidies;
v The copper plans will also feature the ten services included as essential health benefits;
v For copper plans, increases the annual maximum out-of-pocket limit to make feasible copper plan designs in high-cost marketplaces. The Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services must ensure the limits are reasonable for every marketplace;
v Permits Multi-State Plans to include the new copper plans; and
v Copper plans meet minimum essential coverage.
The bill has not actually been fleshed out, scored and simulated, so things will change. However these bullet points could work without doing any damage to the rest of the law. Details below the fold.