Grants to Support States in Health Insurance Rate Review-Cycle II

The summary for the Grants to Support States in Health Insurance Rate Review-Cycle II grant is detailed below. This summary states who is eligible for the grant, how much grant money will be awarded, current and past deadlines, Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) numbers, and a sampling of similar government grants. Verify the accuracy of the data FederalGrants.com provides by visiting the webpage noted in the Link to Full Announcement section or by contacting the appropriate person listed as the Grant Announcement Contact. If any section is incomplete, please visit the website for the Ofc of Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight, which is the U.S. government agency offering this grant.

Grants to Support States in Health Insurance Rate Review-Cycle II: Section 1003 of the Affordable Care Act adds a new section 2794 to the Public Health Service (PHS) Act entitled, ?Ensuring That Consumers Get Value for Their Dollars?. Specifically, Section 2794 requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), in conjunction with the States, to establish a process for the annual review of health insurance premiums to protect consumers from unreasonable rate increases. The statute specifies that the process established by the Secretary ?shall require health insurance issuers to submit to the Secretary and the relevant State a justification for unreasonable premium increases prior to the implementation of the increase,? and that ?such issuers shall prominently post such information on their Internet websites.? The Secretary shall ensure public disclosure of information on such increases and justifications for all health insurance issuers.? In addition, Section 2794 directs the Secretary to carry out a program to award grants to States to help them develop, or improve and enhance their current health insurance rate review and reporting processes. Congress has appropriated $250 million for this grant program for the federal fiscal years (FFYs) 2010-2014.