ME| Bulletin 493 from the Maine Bureau of Insurance sets uniform 2027 filing timelines and content requirements for non-grandfathered individual and small group health and stand-alone dental plans in the merged market, including detailed rules for rate development, plan naming, Clear Choice and HSA designations, MGARA shadow Silver rates, and comprehensive SERFF form and rate submission standards, with tight limits on post-filing changes and an anticipated five-business-day response time for Bureau information requests.
Key Points:
- MGARA and filing package expectations: Carriers must submit MGARA-related shadow Silver QHP rates showing premiums and enrollment with and without the §1332 Innovation Waiver, recognizing the MGARA assessment as an expense, and must include all policy, application, SBC, and related documents in a single form filing, while submitting rates and forms as separate but cross-referenced SERFF filings in accordance with revised Form and Rate General Instructions and Plan Management General Instructions.
- Key deadlines and limits: Initial form and rate filings for 2027 coverage are due June 5, 2026, with transfers to CMS by July 15, rate approval by August 14, and complete filing approval by September 11; no new products may be added after the June submission, revisions are tightly limited after mid-July, and geographic rating factor spreads are capped at 1.10.
- Plan design and naming rules: Carriers must file separate individual and small group submissions using a single merged-market risk pool, follow updated rate review templates, adhere to strict Marketplace naming conventions (including explicit Clear Choice and CSR deductible references, ?50 characters, and company name), designate all Catastrophic and Bronze exchange plans as HSA-eligible (with limited small group exceptions), and provide 20262027 crosswalks plus clear plan-name references in consumer premium-increase notices.