In a perfect world, this would improve the chances that consumers and their investment advisors get a greater choice of five-star rated health-care plans. In the real world, however, some states have only one or two ACA plans to choose from, and it is difficult to apply market pressure to monopolies. But never say never.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services already conducted a rating pilot by displaying stars on HealthCare.gov for plans in Virginia and Wisconsin during the 2017 and 2018 open enrollment periods. That pilot was expanded to include Michigan, Montana and New Hampshire during the 2019 open enrollment period.
When the 2020 open enrollment period begins, the quality ratings will now be displayed nationally on HealthCare.gov. Each plan will show the number of stars it has received toward the top, and patients will also be told if an individual plan hasn’t been rated. Some plans may be too new or too small to have a star rating at this time, CMS cautioned.
All issuers offering plans on the exchanges during the previous plan year and the current year that have more than 500 enrollees will be required to submit quality data to CMS, the agency said in a statement.
State-based exchanges will have the flexibility to display additional state or local quality information.
The announcement comes amid reports that the Trump administration is working to design a plan to fully replace the Affordable Care Act. However, any action by the White House will likely be put on hold until after the 2020 elections since Democrats currently control the House.