Recent 1332 Waiver And Reinsurance Activity

States are increasingly looking for ways to improve stability in their individual insurance marketplaces. One way is through reinsurance programs – systems in which multiple insurance companies share risk by purchasing insurance policies from another party to limit the total loss the original insurer would experience in case of unusually high claims. To date, Alaska, Minnesota, and Oregon have established state reinsurance programs through Section 1332 State Innovation Waivers, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. More are on the way.

Recently, there has been significant activity on using Section 1332 waivers to implement reinsurance programs. On July 29, 2018, CMS approved Wisconsin's 1332 waiver request to implement a reinsurance program for years 2019 through 2023. On July 30, Maine's waiver request to reinstate its reinsurance waiver was approved. Maryland and New Jersey also have pending reinsurance applications before CMS (Maryland being the most recent