Policies implemented to address issues that dogged enrollment in the Medicare Advantage and Part D programs in their early stages could aid the Affordable Care Act (ACA) insurance marketplaces, according to a new policy brief. Prepared by researchers at Georgetown University’s Health Policy Institute and the Center on Health Insurance Reforms with funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the paper’s authors say lessons from the Medicare programs could help solve similar concerns raised about ACA marketplaces, including rising premiums and insurers exiting the program.
The authors retrace the steps of policymakers and administrators of Medicare Advantage and Part D—including strategies to encourage participation by insurers, keep premiums stable, and enhance enrollment. They say that these approaches could help private insurers compete more effectively in the marketplaces, and provide enrollees in all regions of the country with adequate access to a more stable market with affordable plan choices.
“It’s helpful to realize that many of these situations have been encountered before,” said Kathy Hempstead of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. “There are lessons from other highly regulated markets such as Medicare Advantage and Part D that could inform thinking about how to increase stability in the ACA marketplace.”
