The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced the approval of Alaska’s request to extend its State Innovation Waiver under Section 1332 of the Affordable Care Act. Alaska’s 1332 Waiver runs through December 31, 2022 and, according to the DCCED, it has helped lower healthcare premium costs and stabilize the individual health insurance market.
Julie Sande, DCCED Commissioner, said:
“I am so grateful for all of the work Director Wing-Heier and her team have done on behalf of Alaskans. The 1332 waiver has been tremendously successful in lowering premiums. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Alaska’s individual market was dramatically impacted, and the continuation of this program protects Alaskan consumers in a meaningful way.”
The program receives federal pass-through funding to operate the state’s Alaska Reinsurance Program, which is designed to improve health insurance affordability and market stability by reimbursing insurers for part of the claims for high-cost health conditions that otherwise would be paid by other consumers or by the federal government through higher premiums.
In Alaska, the reinsurance program keeps premiums low without increasing federal costs. The state was granted the first reinsurance waiver in the nation. Since 2017, 15 states have developed reinsurance programs and used 1332 waivers to partially fund their programs.
The State Innovation Waiver will be effective January 1, 2023, for five years.
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