CAHC’s president was interviewed by The Hill about the impact of rising ACA premiums on the healthcare system.
Joel White, president of the Council for Affordable Health Coverage, noted some states have adopted a high-risk pool model, something Vice President Vance has endorsed and for which the ACA essentially eliminated the need.
“The risk pool basically is a pressure valve to take that high cost out of the market,” White said. “The consumer doesn’t see any difference, right? Like, they’re still enrolled in an exchange plan. It’s just that when they hit a high cost like $50,000 in claims, that risk then gets thrown to the high-risk pool, which then does a reinsurance payment for those high-cost claims.”
“Those risk pools lowered premiums in those markets by an average of about 20 percent,” he added.