Department bulletin regarding extension of renewal of transition plans

THE STATE OF WYOMING Mark Gordon Department of Insurance Jeffrey P. Rude Governor Commissioner 106 E. 6th Ave. ▪ Cheyenne, Wyoming 82002 To: All Companies Writing Individual & Small Group Health Insurance in Wyoming From: Jeffrey P. Rude, Insurance Commissioner Date: May 1, 2021 Subject: Extension of Transition Plans On January 19, 2021, the Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight (CCIIO) issued guidance that allows states the option to extend transitional policies for individual and small group health insurance plans to policy years beginning on or before October 1, 2022 provided that all policies end by January 1, 2023. The bulletin from CCIIO can be found at: https://www.cms.gov/files/document/extension-limited-non-enforcement-policy-through-calendar-year-2022.pd f. In other words, states were given the option to extend transitional or “grandmothered” plans for individual and small group health insurance plans for PY2022. Pursuant to the option provided to the states by CCIIO, the State of Wyoming will allow transitional policies for both the individual and small group health insurance markets to continue until January 1, 2023. A carrier is not required to continue to offer the transitional policies and may discontinue them, subject to state and federal rules on discontinuance, at their discretion. The Department advises insurers to continue to monitor CCIIO’s website for any subsequent guidance that may be issued on this subject and to follow it accordingly. As before, all other plans issued after January 1, 2014 must be compliant with the Affordable Care Act (ACA). If insurers choose to renew their transitional policies, the policies may be renewed for no longer than 12 months and must end by January 1, 2023. The Department is not requiring insurers to renew their transitional policies. Insurers may determine at their discretion whether to renew transitional policies, so long as the determination is made on a non-discriminatory basis. Furthermore, consumers may not purchase new transitional policies or switch to a different insurer to replace an existing transitional policy. Transitional policies that have been cancelled cannot be reinstated. Questions regarding this notice can be directed to: Denise Burke, Senior Health Policy Analyst at Denise.Burke@wyo.gov or Tana Howard, Section Manager at Tana.Howard@wyo.gov. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the DOI remains open; however, many employees continue to work remotely. The DOI main desk can be reached at 307-777-7401 and the receptionist will see that your calls are directed to the appropriate person. Administration (307) 777-7401 ▪Fax (307) 777-2446 ▪http://doi.wyo.gov/ ▪Licensing (307) 777-7319 ▪Consumer Affairs (307) 777-7402