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The Trump administration on Wednesday proposed changes to the Obamacare individual insurance market that insurers welcomed as a good start but that raised the possibility of higher out-of-pocket cost for consumers. (Humer and Abutaleb, 2/15)

A proposed rule released Wednesday aims to give health insurers greater certainty and financial benefits, making it more appealing for them to stay in Affordable Care Act’s insurance exchanges. Some health-care advocates, however, say the changes would hurt consumers. (Armour, 2/15)

The proposed rules, backed by insurance companies, would tighten certain enrollment procedures and cut the health law’s open enrollment period in half, in hopes that a smaller but healthier consumer base will put the marketplaces on sounder financial footing and attract more insurance companies in states with limited choices. But part of the market’s problem stems from President Trump’s determination to repeal the health law while the White House and Congress struggle to find a politically acceptable replacement. Even as the Department of Health and Human Services worked to answer insurance company concerns, the Internal Revenue Service and Congress were taking steps that could add uncertainty to the jittery insurance economy. (Pear, 2/15)

For consumers, the proposed HHS rules mean tighter scrutiny of anyone trying to sign up for coverage outside of open enrollment by claiming a "special enrollment period" due to a change in life circumstances such as the birth of a child, marriage, or the loss of job-based insurance. Also, sign-up season will be 45 days, shortened from three months currently. (2/15)

The proposed regulations also set the stage for potential reductions in government aid to low- and moderate-income consumers, another policy favored by GOP leaders, including Trump’s new Health and Human Services secretary, Tom Price, a fierce advocate for reduced federal healthcare spending. (Levey, 2/15)

HHS will also require people who want to sign up for coverage during so-called special enrollment periods to first prove they qualify because of a life change like losing a job or getting divorced. "The overall effect of many of the policies here would actually, over time, I think, actually shrink enrollment, not grow enrollment," says Sabrina Corlette, a research professor at Georgetown University's Center on Health Insurance Reforms. (Kodjak, 2/15)

Notably, the rule doesn’t address age-rating bands that set how much more insurers can charge older people compared to younger participants. Some insurer and consumer groups want to see the current three-to-one ratio loosened to lower premiums for younger people. (McIntire, 2/15)

“This proposal will take steps to stabilize the Marketplace, provide more flexibility to states and insurers, and give patients access to more coverage options,” said Patrick Conway, Acting Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. “They will help protect Americans enrolled in the individual and small group health insurance markets while future reforms are being debated.” (Tracer and Armstrong, 2/15)

While it addressed a number of insurers’ requests, industry executives said it didn’t resolve all their concerns and stopped short of answering some of the most important questions surrounding the future of the health law’s exchanges. Most of those major issues will likely involve action by Congress—including the fate of ACA subsidies that help low-income consumers pay for premiums and reduce their out-of-pocket costs for care. (Armour and Wilde Mathews, 2/15)

“These are initial steps in advance of a broader effort to reverse the harmful effects of Obamacare, promote positive solutions to improve access to quality, affordable care and ensure we have a health system that best serves the needs of all Americans,” Tom Price, secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services said in a Twitter message. But the new rule, which had been widely expected, was actually begun by the outgoing Obama administration. (Rovner, 2/15)