This month’s edition touches on several familiar topics for Health Policy News—but with new insights—including the release of the Proposed 2023 Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters (NBPP), the Letter to Issuers in the Federally Facilitated Exchanges (Letter) and accompanying guidance. The proposed rule and guidance came out over the last few weeks and, as expected, include some key policy resets. Also in this edition, HPN digs into the hidden costs of the COVID-19 pandemic, including the long-term impact on children’s mental health, delayed care access and burnout among healthcare providers, and substance use disorders.
The Department of Health and Human Services Releases 2023 Draft Marketplace Rules & Guidance for Health Issuers
On December 28, 2021, the Department of Health and Human Services released the Proposed 2023 Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters (NBPP), along with accompanying technical guidance for regulators and commercial health plan issuers. This year’s plan guidance included many anticipated policy changes and proposals, including the reintroduction of standard plans, increased protections against discriminatory benefit design and administration, and the 2023 timeline for both rate and plan filings. To read more about the proposed changes and impact on the 2023 plan filing and certification process, click here.
The Hidden Costs of COVID-19
As we enter 2022, the COVID-19 pandemic is surging through the United States yet again, this time fueled by the highly transmissible Omicron variant. While news headlines about COVID-19 usually focus on the raw number of cases and the positive test percentage per state, there are other costs that the virus has inflicted upon society that cannot be measured by those statistics alone.
The hidden costs of COVID-19 are harder to discern than positive viral tests but may prove just as damaging to society’s long-term health. To read more about the measurable impacts on children’s mental health, health care providers and capacity, and substance use disorder cases, as well as policy proposals to combat them, click here.
