Colorado, Nevada and Washington have passed public health insurance options, but they are not yet working out as hoped, Politico reported Dec. 27. Here are some of the obstacles the plans face:
Colorado
Colorado's law requires health insurers offering individuals and small group plans to have at least one public option plan, according to the report. That plan is required to reduce premiums 5 percent each year over the course of three years. The state is enrolling people in the public option for the first time this year, and only one of eight insurance companies met the cost-cutting targets.
Nevada
The state's public option, set to begin in 2026, is projected to only slightly decrease Nevada's uninsured rate, according to the report. The plans are expected to insure an additional 8,500 people on the individual market by 2029. About 115,000 people are currently enrolled in individual market plans and nearly 300,000 are uninsured.
Health officials also will consider reducing legislatively-set premium reduction targets from 20 percent to 16 percent over four years, according to the report. State officials said the reduction is needed to reflect the recent spike in medical inflation.
Additionally, Nevada Gov.-elect Joe Lombardo has criticized the public option, according to the report. He has not said whether he will prioritize dismantling the law.
Washington
The state is running its third open enrollment with the public option, according to the report, but only about 7,000 of 240,000 people who enrolled in individual plans through the state’s health insurance exchange selected public option plans for 2022.
Laura Kate Zaichkin, senior policy adviser at the Washington Health Benefit Exchange, told Politico premiums are still too high even though the state caps provider reimbursement rates at 160 percent of what Medicare pays.
Washington's hospitals are also concerned about a provider participation requirement that mandates health systems contract with at least one public option carrier in counties where there are no such options available, according to the report. The hospitals argue the mandate effectively takes away their negotiating power.