Obama administration rejects Republican states' health law waiver requests

[WestVirginiaRebel]

The Hill:

The Obama administration on Monday rejected two states’ requests for waivers from the healthcare reform law.

The decision could rekindle the controversy over the waiver process, as the two states that were turned down, Indiana and Louisiana, have Republican governors. GOP leaders at the state level have been extremely critical of the healthcare law and the requirements that it imposes on states.

The Department of Health and Human Services said Indiana and Louisiana do not need an adjustment from the health law's medical loss ratio. That provision requires insurers to spend at least 80 percent of premiums on medical care or offer rebates to their customers starting next year.

HHS can grant a temporary waiver if regulators determine that the requirement looks likely to destabilize a state's individual health insurance market.

The agency determined that the health plans of Indiana and Louisiana can meet the threshold and that consumers will get better value without an adjustment, said Gary Cohen, acting director of oversight at the HHS Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight.
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They didn't give to the Obama campaign, so no special favors for them...