Kentucky and Oregon are creating basic health plan programs to make coverage more affordable to low-income residents, Politico reported April 30.
Basic health plans, created in the ACA, offer low-cost insurance for people who make up to twice the federal poverty level and do not qualify for Medicaid, according to the report. CMS established basic health plan rules in 2014, but only New York and Minnesota created programs.
Oregon passed legislation creating its program in March, and a task force is ironing out the details, according to the report. Kentucky approved $4.5 million in funding this spring to set up its program.
About 85,000 people in Oregon and at least 37,000 people in Kentucky will be eligible to enroll in the plans as early as next year, according to Politico.
Basic health plan proponents see the plans as a way to preserve health insurance coverage gains that came with expanded Medicaid eligibility during the COVID-19 pandemic once the public health emergency ends, according to the report.
Hospitals are concerned about reimbursement rates under the program and have argued that it should be a temporary solution, according to the report. Kaiser Permanente told CMS that basic health plans are an "inelegant and potentially market-undermining program."