Federal proposal sees catastrophic coverage as key to lowering ACA premium costs

The Trump administration has unveiled a sweeping set of proposed rules that would substantially change health plan offerings on the Affordable Care Act marketplace next year (Source: “Trump Team’s Planned ACA Rule Offers Its Answer to Rising Premium Costs: Catastrophic Coverage,” KFF Health News, Feb. 13).
 
The aim of the regulatory proposals is to provide more choices and lower premiums. But it also proposes sharply raising some annual out-of-pocket costs — to more than $27,000 for one type of coverage — and could cause up to 2 million people to drop insurance, according to analysis included in the proposal. The plan also calls for a heavier focus on promoting catastrophic plans as a way to lower premiums.
 
After a comment period, the rule will be finalized this spring.