HHS Denies N.D. Request for Medical-Loss Ratio Waiver
Last week, HHS announced that it denied North Dakota's request for a medical-loss ratio waiver, the first time that the agency has rejected such a request. The waivers allow insurers in states to avoid a requirement in the federal health reform law that individual and small-group health plans spend a certain amount of premiums on direct medical costs. HHS said it denied the waiver because North Dakota insurers are not at risk of leaving the market. Meanwhile, HHS partially approved waivers for Iowa and Kentucky.
- "HHS Rejects North Dakota Health Waiver, Approves Two Others" (Pecquet, "Healthwatch," The Hill, 7/22).
- "HHS Denies Medical-Loss-Ratio Exemption for North Dakota" (Zigmond, Modern Healthcare, 7/22).