The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) is urging the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to avoid opening a loophole that could give some of the nation's largest insurance companies regulatory advantages over their smaller competitors.

The NAIC is concerned about potential consumer implications of the new multi-state plans offered through the insurance exchanges if they are held to different standards.

Beginning in 2014, OPM is charged with contracting with at least two health plans to be automatically sold on every state's exchange as "multi-state plans." Although the intent of the law is for the plans to operate on a level playing field, the actual language of the law is somewhat ambiguous, and could allow for two sets of rules — one for large multi-state plans and one for everyone else. This provision could unintentionally upset state insurance markets and erode consumer protections.