A federal court in Maryland has issued a temporary stay in the implementation of eight provisions in CMS’s Affordable Care Act marketplace rule – provisions that were to take effect on July 20.

In a challenge to the legality of portions of the regulation in the case of City of Columbus v. Kennedy, the court concluded that the plaintiffs were likely to succeed in their challenge to some provisions in question even before further proceedings and therefore vacated:

• the expansion of eligibility for catastrophic plans through an income-based hardship exemption;
• expansion of annual maximum out-of-pocket limits and revised cost-sharing requirements for some bronze and catastrophic plans;
• an easing of federal network adequacy requirements;
• creation of a means for non-network plans to qualify as marketplace plans;
• the elimination of standardized plans;
• a policy disqualifying individuals from receiving subsidies if they fail to reconcile premium tax credits with their income;
• selected income verification requirements; and
• the introduction of stricter eligibility checks prior to special enrollment periods.

Learn more from the court’s ruling in the case of City of Columbus v. Kennedy and the Healthcare Dive article “Judge stays Trump administration policies set to shrink ACA marketplaces.”