Idaho Gov. Butch Otter is pushing back on the idea that a federal regulator rejected the state's plan to allow the sale of alternative Affordable Care Act plans, calling a recently published letter an "invitation" to rework the proposal.
Otter in a joint statement with Lieutenant Gov. Brad Little and Idaho Department of Insurance Director Dean Cameron, maintained that the letter from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Seema Verma actually supported the state's efforts to pursue "innovative alternatives" to ACA plans.
"We consider the letter an invitation from CMS to continue discussing the specifics of what can and cannot be included in state-based plans," Otter wrote.
Verma on March 8 told Otter and Cameron stating that her agency would "enforce the ACA" if Cameron allowed the sale of the plans that sidestep the health law's rules. While Verma warned that her agency could step in, she also suggested that the plans be transformed into short-term, limited duration plans that could be legally sold under the Public Health Service Act.
Otter wrote that the state would "consider all possible options" and then continue discussions with CMS on how to achieve the "shared goals" of lowering costs and stabilizing Idaho's health insurance market.
