Lawmakers urge CMS to extend transitional health plans as agency hesitates

Two Iowa lawmakers are calling on CMS to extend the eligibility for transitional health plans through 2023. 

Transitional health plans are those purchased between the approval and implementation of ACA between 2010 and 2013. More than 1 million Americans rely on them for coverage, but they require annual extensions or coverage expires.

Both under presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump, the extensions have received bipartisan support and passed without fail. 

However, the lawmakers claim that CMS currently has no plans to extend transitional coverage into 2023 or beyond. Failing to extend coverage breaks the Obama administration-era promise of "if you like the plan you have, you can keep it," the lawmakers wrote. 

"We support Iowans having access to a choice of high-quality and affordable health insurance that protects from discrimination of an individual’s health status and pre-existing conditions," the lawmakers said in their letter to CMS. "We urge you to take action quickly to maintain transitional health plans in [calendar year] 2023, so Iowans can have peace-of-mind."

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