State public-option health plans expand but can't fill gaps left by federal changes

"More than 10,000 people have enrolled in Nevada's new public-option health plans, which debuted last fall with the expectation that they would bring lower prices to the health insurance market. Those preliminary numbers from the open enrollment period that ended in January are less than a third of what state officials had projected. Nevada is the third state so far to launch a public option plan, along with Colorado and Washington state."

"The idea is to offer lower-cost plans to consumers to expand health care access. But researchers said plans like these are unlikely to fill the gaps left by sweeping federal changes, including the expiration of the subsidies for plans bought on Affordable Care Act marketplaces. The public option gained attention in the late 2000s when Congress considered but ultimately rejected creating a health plan funded and run by the government that would compete with private carriers in the market."

"The programs in Washington state, Colorado, and Nevada don't go that far they aren't government run, but are private-public partnerships that compete with private insurance. In recent years, states have considered creating public-option plans to make health coverage more affordable and to reduce the number of uninsured people. Washington was the first state to launch a program, in 2021, and Colorado followed in 2023."

More than 10,000 people enrolled in Nevada's new public-option health plans after their debut last fall, a figure under one-third of state projections. The plans aim to lower premium costs and expand access and join similar initiatives in Washington and Colorado. Researchers warn that public-option programs are unlikely to fully fill coverage gaps created by federal policy shifts such as the expiration of ACA marketplace subsidies. Prior state programs have faced provider participation shortfalls and difficulty achieving promised rate reductions. Nevada law requires Battle Born State Plan carriers to cut premiums by 15% versus a benchmark silver plan over four years.

Read at www.npr.org