If you like your grandmothered plan, you might be able to keep it

While Obamacare critics revive charges that the law is causing health plan cancellations,

a majority of states are actually allowing those with grandmothered plans to renew them

LIGHTNING RELEASES: LAKEVILLE, MN (10/3/2014) – If you’ve been holding on to an health insurance plan that’s not compliant with the new health reform law – and you want to keep it – there’s a decent chance you can re-enroll in the same coverage during the next open enrollment period (November 15-February 15).

That’s the conclusion of healthinsurance.org contributor and health insurance expert Louise Norris, who conducted a state-by-state survey of insurance commissioners this fall. Norris, who’s written extensively about the Affordable Care Act’s health insurance marketplaces, found that the majority of states – 35 of the 50 – will allow policy holders with grandmothered plans to renew them again if their insurance carriers continue to offer the plans.

In a repeat of last year’s outcry over anticipated health plan cancellations, policy holders are again being whipped into a frenzy this fall, says Norris. But the attention is overblown, she says – especially in light of her research and her latest healthinsurance.org report, Like your grandmothered health plan?

Grandmothered – or transitional – plans are policies that aren’t grandfathered but were effective prior to 2014. (Grandfathered plans are allowed to remain in force indefinitely, without having to become fully compliant with the ACA, as long as they aren’t changed to substantially cut benefits or increase costs for policy holders.) Although most of Obamacare’s regulations don’t apply to grandfathered plans, grandmothered plans do have to adhere to some additional provisions of the health law, Norris writes.

Last fall, the Department of Health & Human Services announced a transitional relief program under which states and carriers could allow non-grandfathered individual and small-group policies to renew at the end of 2013 and remain in force until late 2014. In March, HHS extended the program, allowing grandmothered plans to renew up until October 1, 2016 and remain in force as late as September 30, 2017.

Under the transitional relief program, the final call on renewing grandmothered plans is up to the states and carriers. Thirty-five states ultimately decided to allow grandmothered plans to renew again at least into 2015. Carriers in those states have the option of renewing or cancelling their grandmothered plans, so not all grandmothered plans in those states will be available for renewal again this fall. But a lot of them will.

For a list of the states and their decisions regarding renewal of grandmothered plans, read Like your grandmothered health plan?

About healthinsurance.org

Created in 1994, healthinsurance.org is one of the longest running sources of in-depth information about health insurance. The site was designed to be a resource for Americans who – for whatever reason – had difficulty obtaining health insurance on the private market.

Today, the site and its team of expert contributors are focused intently on health reform. Together with writers from other health care advocacy groups we endeavor to educate Americans about the health care system and to give them a thorough understanding of how the Affordable Care Act will improve their lives and to help dispel myths and scare tactics about the law.

For interviews with Louise Norris, please contact:

Steve Anderson (817) 991-9791 / sanderson@healthinsurance.org

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