https://www.npr.org/sections/h...-flout-federal-rules

It's barely been two weeks since Idaho regulators said they would allow the sale of health insurance that doesn't meet all of the Affordable Care Act's requirements — a controversial step some experts said would likely draw legal scrutiny and, potentially, federal fines for any insurer that jumped in.

And on Wednesday, Blue Cross of Idaho unveiled a menu of new health plans that break with federal health law rules in several ways, including setting premiums based on applicants' health.

the new plans, which the insurer has named Freedom Blue, cost less per month than policies that meet all ACA rules.

They accomplish that by limiting coverage. If they are allowed to be sold, consumers will need to weigh the lower premiums against some of the coverage restrictions and variable premiums and deductibles

The plans, for example, will include a "waiting period" of up to 12 months for any pre-existing conditions if the applicant has been without coverage for more than 63 days, Jeppesen said.

Additionally, they cap total medical care coverage at $1 million annually. And premiums are based, in part, on a person's health: The healthiest consumers get rates 50 percent below standard levels, while those deemed unhealthy would be charged 50 percent more.

All those conditions violate ACA rules, which forbid insurers from rejecting coverage of preexisting conditions or setting dollar caps on benefits or higher premiums for people with health problems.

Premiums for a healthy 45-year-old, for example, could be as low as $195 a month, according to a comparison issued by the insurer, while a 45-year-old with health problems could be charged $526. In that case, the 45-year old would find a lower price tag — $343 a month — for an ACA-compliant bronze plan.

While Freedom Blues plans cover many of the "essential health benefits" required under the ACA, such as hospitalization, emergency care and mental health treatment, they do not include pediatric dental or vision coverage. One of the five plans doesn't include maternity coverage.

When compared with one of the Blues' ACA-compliant plans — called the Bronze 5500 — the new standard Freedom Blue plan's annual deductibles are a mixed bag.

That's because it has two separate deductibles — one for medical care and one for drugs. If a consumer took only generic drugs, the new plan would be less expensive, according to details provided by the plan. But with a $4,000 deductible for brand-name drugs, the Freedom Blue plan requires more upfront money before full coverage kicks in than the ACA-compliant plan it was compared with.

Jeppesen said the insurer hopes to attract many of the "110,000 uninsured state residents who cannot afford [ACA] coverage."

That's the total number of uninsured people who earn more than 100 percent of the federal poverty level in the state, he said.

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Let's have more freedom of choice that obamacare took away

I hope this spreads

Insurance is always priced by risk for everything else - car, home, life, liability, etc.

Average people should be able to buy plans that reflect their risk level.

People who are high risk, and prohibitively expensive to insure could qualify for some gov't assistance of some kind.