New guidance from HHS and the Treasury Department on 1332 waivers: s3.amazonaws.com/public-inspect… Still reading the overview section, but this doesn't instill much confidence: 
So the Administration is going to be much more likely to approve a state's 1332 waiver that calls for more STLDI plans than one that calls for Medicaid buy-in. The gaping holes in STLDI coverage are apparently not a concern.
To be clear, "reduce prices for consumers" is referring ONLY to the premiums people pay each month. The costs people face *when they get sick* are invariably higher when states don't have strong insurance regulations.
We have seen time and again that the average healthy consumer simply doesn't know what their needs are when it comes to health insurance. That's the whole point... you never know what health care you're going to need in the future.
The Administration is clarifying that they will consider AHPs and STLDI plans to be "coverage" when they're determining whether or not a comparable number of people will have coverage under a state's proposed waiver.
Closing the coverage gap is closing the coverage gap, so this would be better than status quo in non-expansion states. But you know what would be even better for the 2.2 million impoverished people in the coverage gap? Medicaid expansion (OOP costs much > w/ QHPs vs. Medicaid)
