Congress Moves to Scrap New ACA Rule on Market Integrity, Hitting the Reset Button on Healthcare Policy

This joint resolution is a legislative move to formally disapprove and immediately cancel a specific rule recently issued by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). That CMS rule, titled "Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act; Market Integrity and Affordability," was published in the Federal Register (90 Fed. Reg. 27074) and aimed to make changes to how the Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplaces operate.

The Congressional Veto Button

Think of this as Congress using a legislative kill switch, specifically the authority granted under the Congressional Review Act (CRA). The CRA allows Congress to review new federal agency regulations and, through a joint resolution, reject them. If this resolution passes, the CMS rule is essentially erased—it will have no legal force or effect. This means any changes to the ACA marketplace structure or operations proposed by that specific CMS rule will not happen, restoring the regulatory status quo that existed before CMS published the rule.

Why This Matters for Your Health Insurance

Since the underlying CMS rule focused on "Market Integrity and Affordability" within the ACA, its cancellation hits directly at how your health insurance marketplace operates. We don't know the exact details of the cancelled rule, but generally, rules in this area might affect things like how insurance companies calculate premiums, the marketing standards they must follow, or the process for enrolling in coverage. For consumers, this means that whatever specific protections or changes CMS was trying to implement to stabilize or improve the ACA market are now off the table.

The Real-World Impact: Regulatory Tug-of-War

This resolution highlights an ongoing tension between the legislative branch (Congress) and the executive branch (CMS). When Congress uses the CRA, it’s asserting its oversight power over federal agencies. For the average person, this procedural move translates into regulatory uncertainty. If you were an ACA marketplace participant—say, a small business owner relying on the exchange for employee coverage, or an individual buying a plan—you might have been banking on the stability or affordability measures promised by the now-canceled CMS rule. Now, those expectations are dashed, and the policy landscape remains exactly where it was, forcing stakeholders to wait for the next regulatory attempt. While this action reinforces Congress’s authority, it leaves the policy issues the CMS rule was trying to address unresolved.