Alaska Obtains Obamacare Waiver to Create Reinsurance Pool

Alaska has obtained a Section 1332 State Innovation Waiver from the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to create the Alaska Reinsurance Program (ARP), which will be used to drive down costs to consumers while also providing coverage to those who lack insurance. “The approval will temporarily stabilize Alaska’s individual insurance market, which only has one carrier and has experienced a 203 percent increase in insurance premiums since the Affordable Care Act began,” said Seema Verma, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). The ARP is expected to lower premiums by 20 percent while providing new coverage for close to 1500 individuals.  Under the ARP, the second-lowest-cost silver plan premium will be reduced, resulting in the federal government's spending less in premium tax credits. CMS is actively urging other states to apply for a 1332 Waiver to help stabilize their markets and save the federal government some money.