The Affordable Care Act's Early Renewal Loophole: What's at Stake and What States Are Doing to Close It
<p>Starting January 1, 2014, the Affordable Care Act will bring much-needed reforms to the private health insurance market. Insurers will no longer be able to deny coverage based on people's preexisting conditions or use health status or gender to set premiums, and health plans will be required to cover a comprehensive set of benefits. However, some insurers have begun encouraging their customers to renew their coverage ahead of schedule in order to delay implementing these reforms for up to 12 months.</p><p>In a new blog post, Georgetown University's Christine Monahan and Sabrina Corlette explain <a href="/blog/2013/affordable-care-acts-early-renewal-loophole-whats-stake-and-what-states-are-doing-close">what's at stake</a> with these early renewals and what some states are doing to curtail them. While some—the young, healthy, and male—may benefit financially in the short term by renewing their policies early, these early renewals will harm nearly everyone in the long term, the authors say.</p>
<p>"If the only people who enroll in new plans in 2014 are more expensive to cover...insurers will need to make up for the higher risk the following year," they write.</p>
<p>Read the <a href="/blog/2013/affordable-care-acts-early-renewal-loophole-whats-stake-and-what-states-are-doing-close">blog post</a> to learn about states' efforts to close the early renewal loophole, and the legislative and regulatory tools available to ensure all consumers receive the full range of protections under the Affordable Care Act.</p>