The Obama administration has now established a new set of standards for these private coverage plans.
The primary source of coverage for millions of Americans, Medicaid insurance plans, are undergoing a significant change as the Obama administration has now laid out a fresh set of standards to which these policies must adhere.
The new rules have been designed to address insurance companies that serve Medicaid customers.
There are 39 states in which insurance companies are serving as a kind of middleman in order to make sure that customers have coverage. Each state is responsible for running its own program for Medicaid insurance plans, but the federal government provides payment for the brunt of the cost.
The announcement mainly changed the way that insurers provide access to service through Medicaid insurance plans.
The regulations now state that health insurance companies are required access to certain forms of service provider to people who are covered through these plans. Moreover, it also states that these insurance providers must also spend 80 percent of the premiums they collect on medical care.
There is also a clear intention for the development of a rating system that will make it easier for customers to be able to shop for the right Medicaid plan to cover their needs. The ability to effectively shop for appropriate health insurance policies has been one of the focus points of the Affordable Care Act from the very beginning.
At the moment, there are more than 70 million people who are covered by Medicaid insurance plans. These range from children to pregnant women as well as the elderly who are living in nursing homes.
It is estimated that the cost of these plans is around $500 billion per year, which makes it a large portion of the state budgets. It also means that no matter what type of changes will occur to the requirements for these plans, they will always be surrounded by a certain level of controversy. While the federal government does pay for a sizeable chunk of the cost of these programs, the states still do need to foot the bill for a certain amount as well.