Heidi Alexander: “I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record a copy of the article, ``More ACA Plans to Come With No Premiums…”

“I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record a copy of the article, ``More ACA Plans to Come With No Premiums in 2018,'' by Anna Wilde Mathews and Christopher Weaver that was published in the Wall Street Journal on October 27, 2017. There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in the Record, as follows: More ACA Plans To Come With No Premiums in 2018 Insurers selling Affordable Care Act plans have a compelling new pitch: free health insurance. When sales of plans on the law's exchanges begin Nov. 1, a growing number of consumers around the country will be able to get coverage for 2018 without paying any monthly premium, according to health insurers and an analysis of newly available federal data. In nearly all of the 2,722 counties included in the data, some consumers will be able to obtain free health insurance because they qualify for larger federal premium subsidies that cover the full cost of a plan, according to the new analysis. The growing availability of no-premium plans is a side effect of a decision by President Donald Trump's administration to end federal payments that are used to reduce out-of-pocket costs, such as deductibles, for low- income enrollees. The administration didn't halt--and indirectly bolstered--the federal subsidies that help consumers with their insurance premiums.…”