Gov. Kim Reynolds says she hasn’t received any indication from the White House that it opposes Iowa’s attempt to lower premium rates for health insurance policies on the Obamacare exchange.
This is contrary to a storythat ran last week in the Washington Post. It reported back in August, President Trump told the head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to deny Iowa’s waiver request to help stabilize these costs, in part by encouraging healthier people to buy insurance.
But Reynolds says her meetings with the Trump Administration have been productive in a situation that lacks flexibility.
"I have not received any indication from the White House that they are trying to stop, or not in favor of working with use, that's just not what's happening," she says. "The White House has continued to work with us to get to 'yes' to provide a solution."
Reynolds adds there are waiver details that still need to be worked out. A 30-day comment period on the proposal ends next Thursday.
Without this waiver, Medica, the only insurance company left on Iowa’s ACA exchange, would raise premiums by an average of 57 percent. Though many people on the exchange would pay far more because their current insurer, Aetna, is exiting the marketplace.