GAO-Private Health Insurance: Waivers of Restrictions on Annual Limits on Health Benefits

According to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) report, the Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight (CCIIO) received a total of 1,415 applications for waivers on restrictions of annual limits on health benefits as of April 25, 2011. CCIIO approved waivers covering all plans in 1,347 applications, or about 95% of applications. For another 25 applications, CCIIO approved waivers for some and denied others in the same application. The office denied waivers covering all plans in 40 applications, and three applications were pending at the time of the GAO's review. About 3 million people were covered in the approved plans while about 153,000 people were covered in plans that were denied.