WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced today it is implementing important measures to expand access to more affordable catastrophic health coverage through HHS’ new hardship exemption guidance. This guidance streamlines access to more affordable catastrophic coverage for consumers who are ineligible for advance payments of the premium tax credit (APTC) or cost-sharing reductions (CSRs).
Through these efforts, more Americans will be able to qualify for catastrophic health coverage based on need, beginning November 1st with the start of open enrollment.
Let's stop a moment and look at what Catastrophic Plans actually are.
For months now I've been shouting from the rooftops about the imminent expiration of the improved federal tax credits for ACA enrollees, repeatedly pointing out that those already paying full price are gonna get hit with average premium hikes of over 23% while most of the 92% of exchange enrollees who currently receive at least some federal assistance will see their net premiums skyrocket by up to 100%, 200% or even 300% or more.
Having helped cause this crisis in the first place both by refusing to push Congressional Republicans to extend the enhanced subsidies as well as by changing the Premium Adjustment Percentage Index formula (PAPI) to make the remaining subsidies even less generous, the Trump Regime has come up with what I'm sure they think of as a brilliant "solution" to the problem.
Virginia Governor Ralph Northam has been out of the national news for the past month or so, keeping a low profile since the media frenzy over the "med school blackface photo" debacle subsided. Rightly or wrongly, in the end, in spite of pretty much everyone under the sun demanding that he resign, he stuck it out and outlasted the scandal by simply...not.
He isn't up for reelection (and in fact under Virginia law he can't run again anyway), he didn't actually commit any crimes or anything else impeachable, so it sounds like the state has pretty much just sort of accepted that he's gonna stick it out for another couple of years. In fact, according to this article in the Virginian-Pilot, he seems to have regained some of his pre-scandal stature:
Two months after a blackface photo in an old yearbook nearly ended the political career of Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, his life seems mostly back to normal.
