Here are Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina’s ideas for bettering the ACA.
1. Don’t allow people to enroll outside open enrollment periods. When individuals are allowed to do so, they “sign on when they’re sick, get covered and then drop out when they’re cured,” the company suggested, according to the report.
2. Better enforce the ACA individual mandate. Don’t let people — especially healthy, young people — avoid paying the penalty. Doing so causes the costs of coverage to rise.
3. Lessen the grace period for individuals to pay premiums. “Now it’s 90 days, and insurers have to cover costs for 30 days in which premiums aren’t paid,” BCBS of North Carolina suggested, according to the report.
4. Encourage the federal government to fund accounts that reimburse insurers. Enacting this change would stabilize the marketplace. BCBS of NC credits its $400 million loss in 2014 to the federal government not helping pay for losses.
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