On May 18, HHS and the Treasury Department approved Virginia's waiver application to establish the "Commonwealth Health Reinsurance Program" that aims to reimburse some payers for a percentage of members' high claims and reduce premiums.
The program will initially operate for up to five years and will begin in 2023. The CHRP will reimburse ACA individual market payers for a percentage of a member's claims costs that exceed a specified threshold and up to a specified ceiling. In 2023, the approved program would reimburse claims between $40,000 and $155,000 with a coinsurance rate of 70 percent. The program is projected to reduce individual marketplace premiums by 15.6 percent in 2023, and aims to eventually reduce them by up to 20 percent.
Submitting the application to establish the program was required under a state law passed in 2021, HB 2332. The program is being funded through state general funds and federal pass-through funding provided under the waiver.