The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which oversees the insurance marketplaces set up by the ACA, is encouraging states to allow the sale of plans outside of those exchanges that don’t incorporate a surcharge insurers started tacking on last year. Many insurers added the premium surcharges last fall to plans sold on the individual market. It was a response to the Trump administration’s announcement that it would no longer pay the companies for the “cost-sharing reduction” subsidies required under the health law. The subsidies help cover deductibles and other out-of-pocket costs for lower-income consumers who buy marketplace plans. (Michelle Andrews, Kaiser Health News)
