PPACA contains possible PPACA 2.0 provision

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) contains a provision — Section 1332 — that states can use to turn it inside outside.

PPACA Section 1332 gives states a chance to ask the secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Treasury secretary for a waiver of many PPACA components, including:

• The qualified health plan (QHP) requirements.
• The public health insurance exchange requirements.
• The cost-sharing reduction program provisions
• The Section 36B premium tax credit provisions.
• The employer coverage mandate requirements.
• The minimum essential coverage (MEC) requirements.

The Health Insurance and Managed Care Committee, an arm of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), included a conference call report mentioning PPACA Section 1332 in the packet for its session at the NAIC's summer meeting. The NAIC is meeting this week in Louisville, Ky.

The Health Care Reform Regulatory Alternatives Working Group — a group for states and other jurisdictions in the NAIC that dislike part or all of PPACA — has been looking at ways states can use the PPACA innovation waiver option. The working group ended up canceling its own summer meeting session.