02/18/2026
The Trump administration is ending the Obamacare as we know it.
The Trump administration is aiming to roll back limits on the plan designs insurers can offer on the Affordable Care Act's (ACA's) exchanges.
Under the Biden administration, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) implemented regulations that limited insurers to two nonstandard plan designs per metal level on the ACA marketplaces, with the goal of simplifying the shopping experience for consumers.
In the proposed Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters for the 2027 plan year, released Feb. 9, the CMS said it intends to discontinue those limits as well as requirements that plans offer standardized options on the exchanges. To ease potential disruption, the agency said it will allow payers to choose whether to keep the standardized plan options they currently offer. Public comments end on 03/13/2026 at 11:59PM.
This proposed rule contains provisions to improve implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, including payment parameters and provisions related to the HHS-operated risk adjustment and risk adjustment data validation (HHS-RADV) programs, as well as 2027 user fee rates for...