ACA

On October 29, 2020, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Labor and the Department of the Treasury released the final “Transparency in Coverage” rule. The rule requires most group health plans and issuers to provide individualized cost-sharing information to participants, beneficiaries and enrollees upon request, and to publicly disclose in-network provider negotiated rates, historical out-of-network allowed amounts and drug pricing information. The final rule also amends the medical loss ratio (MLR) rules to allow issuers to receive credit in the calculations for savings they share with enrollees utilizing lower-cost, higher value providers.

The final regulations are similar to the proposed regulations issued on November 15, 2019 (described in this previous blog post). While the proposed rule had included a request for information regarding how providing quality measurements and reporting could be used to complement cost-sharing information, the final rules do not address health care quality and continue to focus on price transparency.Continue Reading Final Rules Require Health Plans to Publicly Disclose Reimbursement Rates

In January, we posted about the Department of Labor’s (DOL or the “Department”) proposed rule to allow more Association Health Plans (AHPs) to be regulated as large group health plans.  The proposed rule garnered national attention and the Department received over 900 stakeholder comments from consumer groups, individual employers, employer associations, health insurance issuers, business groups, and state regulators.  Supporters of the rule emphasized the need for more affordable health care options while detractors raised concerns about the rule’s potential effects on the existing health care markets and the scope of coverage that will be available to individuals who enroll in AHPs.

On June 19, 2018, the Department finalized the rule, 83 Fed. Reg. 28912 (June 19, 2018) (codified at 29 C.F.R. 2510), with relatively few changes to the proposed rule.Continue Reading DOL Finalizes Highly Anticipated Rule Aimed at Expanding Access to Association Health Plans

The IRS has provided interim guidance in Notice 2015-43 on the application of certain provisions of the Affordable Care Act to expatriate health insurance issuers, expatriate health plans, and employers in their capacity as sponsors of expatriate health plans.  The interim guidance is effective for policies that are issued or renewed on or after July 1, 2015, and for plan years that start on or after July 1, 2015.  We discussed ACA issues for U.S. expatriates and expatriate health plans in an earlier post.

Background

As background, the regulatory agencies issued temporary relief in FAQs XIII and FAQs XVIII  that exempted certain expatriate health plans from some of ACA’s market reforms if they complied with a number of pre-ACA mandates.  The FAQs applied only to insured plans with enrollment limited to primary insureds who live outside their home country or outside the U.S. for at least 6 months during a 12-month period and their dependents.  The FAQs provided no relief for self-insured plans.
Continue Reading Interim Guidance for Expatriate Health Plans

For the second time in three years, the U. S. Supreme Court has upheld a key provision of the Affordable Care Act. The Supreme Court ruled last week in King v. Burwell that premium tax credits are available to lower-income individuals who buy health insurance on a federal exchange, as well as to those who buy insurance on a state exchange. The ruling means that the Affordable Care Act will persist in its current form, at least for now, and employers must continue to grapple with its restrictions, mandates, and reporting requirements.
Continue Reading Supreme Court Saves Affordable Care Act Again

A few weeks ago we posted about a new out-of-pocket limit for group health plans that provide family coverage. HHS announced that the ACA cost-sharing limit for self-only coverage applies to each individual who has family coverage. This embedded individual limit is in addition to the existing limit for family coverage, which applies to the aggregate costs of the covered individuals.
Continue Reading More Guidance on New Cost-Sharing Limit

In case you missed this development—which was buried in the preamble of a 129-page Federal Register notice dealing mainly with rules for the individual and small group markets—HHS has created a new out-of-pocket limit for group health plans that provide family coverage. HHS says that the limit for self-only coverage applies to each individual who has family coverage. This new individual limit is in addition to the existing limit for family coverage, which applies to the aggregate costs of the covered individuals.
Continue Reading HHS Creates A New Out-of-Pocket Limit For Health Plans

By now most employers are beginning to come to terms with the Affordable Care Act coverage mandates and reporting requirements that apply to the group health coverage of their U.S. workforce. For global businesses, though, the problems do not stop at the U.S. border. These companies must also determine how ACA affects U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents working abroad.

Most companies face four major questions concerning health coverage for U.S. expatriates:

  • Must they provide group health coverage to employees working abroad in order to satisfy the employer mandate?
  • Must their employees working abroad maintain a minimum level of health coverage in order to satisfy the individual mandate?
  • If an individual is covered by a foreign group health plan or insurance policy, does that coverage qualify as minimum essential coverage that satisfies the employer and individual mandates?
  • If an employer provides group health coverage to U.S. citizens or residents working abroad, is that coverage subject to the same requirements that apply to employer health coverage in the U.S.?

Continue Reading Affordable Care Act Issues for U.S. Expatriates

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) has requested that the United States District Court of Minnesota stop Honeywell from implementing a wellness program that would provide financial incentives for undergoing biometric screenings.  The EEOC is challenging Honeywell’s program on grounds that it would violate the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) and the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (“GINA”).  The EEOC’s request is a surprising development because, as recently as last year, the EEOC stated that it has not taken a position on whether and to what extent providing a financial reward to participate in a wellness program violates the ADA.  In addition, EEOC staff have not previously given any public indication that providing incentives to spouses for participating in a wellness program violates GINA.  Consequently, many employers provide financial rewards to encourage participation in wellness programs up to the limits permitted by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (“HIPAA”), as amended by the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”).  Employers that offer financial rewards (or impose financial penalties) for participation in wellness programs that request medical information or involve medical examinations should take note of this development.

Update:  On November 3, 2014, the District Court judge denied the EEOC’s request.Continue Reading EEOC Seeks to Stop Use of Financial Incentives for Wellness Program Participation

Yesterday two federal courts of appeal reached opposite conclusions on the question whether individuals in 34 states are eligible for federal subsidies when they purchase health insurance coverage.  Depending on how this issue is resolved, it could have a significant impact on the future of the Affordable Care Act, including the employer mandate scheduled to take effect in 2015.
Continue Reading Key Component of Affordable Care Act Might Be Invalid