Insurance companies are taking a breather this week as the health insurance marketplace for the United States enters its final phase of the enrollment period.
The Obama administration released guidelines for insurers in March that called for insurers to provide coverage for those with pre-existing conditions and for those who were previously insured but didn’t have coverage before.
Insurers are also likely to increase their out-of-pocket maximums for people with pre to out- of pocket expenses to cover higher out-pocket costs for those without health insurance, which is a common feature of the Obamacare exchanges.
And insurers have also agreed to extend some coverage to people who get insurance through the federal government’s Medicaid expansion, which was not included in the March guidelines.
The health insurance industry was quick to embrace the new rules, which are expected to reduce costs and reduce premiums for most insurers, according to a survey of insurance analysts published Wednesday by the American Association of Insurance Commissioners.
The association’s survey of insurers found that about 70 percent of them had not yet decided on the rules.
The survey also found that fewer insurers were considering extending or adding insurance to their plans than expected, as they did not have the data to compare plans across insurers.
The Trump administration said in a statement on Wednesday that the guidelines were designed to give companies “flexibility to offer insurance to those who need it and those who cannot afford it.”
But the association said the rules could still lead to “a significant increase in premiums” for some people and insurers.
A number of insurers have said that they are considering reducing out-door coverage and increasing premiums for some of their members.
Insurance companies that offer plans on the individual market, which cover about 22 million Americans, have been increasing premiums by an average of more than 40 percent since last year.
The White House said the guidelines would allow insurers to offer “affordable, high-quality, quality plans that are consistent with the needs of our members.”
Some insurers have decided to increase premiums because of new rules that require them to provide health benefits to some of those with preexisting conditions, or to provide them with additional financial help.
Many of the insurers that are offering plans on this exchange have also added coverage for people who have pre-existed conditions, including some with premenstrual syndrome and women who are pregnant or who have had a miscarriage.
In addition, some insurers are expanding the number of people who can receive benefits and coverage to cover those who have preexisted conditions and to include people who were denied coverage before the new guidelines were issued.
Some insurers, including UnitedHealthcare and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas, have decided not to offer coverage to certain people who are uninsured and those with conditions that make it difficult to get insurance, including cancer and mental illness.
The new guidelines also require insurers to cover some of the cost of certain drugs, such as certain cancer treatments.
Those requirements could push some insurers to raise premiums, which could affect some enrollees.
Insurer executives have also been warning that they may be more vulnerable to a new wave of health-care bills in 2018, when most people who buy coverage through the exchanges will be in their early 50s and older.
That could push people who might be younger to get coverage.
The government’s guidelines are part of a broader push by the Trump administration to expand coverage and help lower costs.
But some insurers, particularly in the Blue Cross, have argued that the rules will limit coverage.
“We’ve heard it said that the government has not taken care of people for a long time,” said Mark Einhorn, the president and chief executive officer of the Blue Collar Institute, a nonprofit health insurance research and advocacy group.
“This is really about a government that has been too slow to respond to the needs and the complexity of health care.
And they’ve got to be very aggressive about it.”