MHA Health Care Aide

The White House on May 30 issued early estimates of the number of health plans likely to be available in Health Insurance Marketplaces when enrollment begins in October. According to the memorandum, more than 120 issuers have applied to offer qualified health plans in the Marketplaces run by the Department of Health and Human Services.

In about 75% of those states, the administration expects at least one new insurance issuer to enter the individual market and thereby expand choice and competition among plans. The administration also expects multi-state plans to be offered in at least 31 states in 2014, with coverage expanding to all 50 states and the District of Columbia by 2017.

    

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The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on May 31 released a rule finalizing requirements for the Small Business Health Option Program (SHOP), meaning eligible small employers can now evaluate participating plans and determine if they qualify for a tax credit to help fund the coverage. Starting in October, small employers will be able to choose from a range of SHOP coverage options for their employees beginning in January 2014.

In 2014, the federally-facilitated SHOPs will allow employers to choose one plan from a range of plans to offer their employees, while other SHOPs will have the flexibility to decide whether employers can offer their employees a choice of plans during 2014. Beginning in 2015, all SHOPs will allow small businesses to let their employees choose coverage from a number of plans.

The rule will be published in the June 4 Federal Register and takes effect July 1. Also, CMS released the final applications employers and their employees will use to apply for the coverage.

The paper applications are two and three pages, respectively, and the online application will allow applicants to answer only questions relevant to their situation.

    

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On January 24, 2013, the Department of Labor issued guidance delaying the deadline for employers to provide employees with notice of coverage options available through the health care exchanges. Learn more here.

    

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Beginning in 2014, large U.S. employers that do not offer a minimum level of affordable health coverage to their full-time employees may be required to pay an assessment of up to $3,000 per employee. For plan years beginning in 2015, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) is proposing to extend this assessment to employers that fail to offer adequate health coverage to the children (up to age 26) of their full-time employees.

Proposed “pay or play” regulations released on December 28, 2012 also include rules for determining whether an entity is a “large employer” subject to the shared responsibility requirements, identifying which employees and dependents must be offered coverage, and calculating any payment that may be due.

Read more from JDSupra Law News here.

    

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With the effective date for major changes in the private insurance market under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) less than a year away, a new Kaiser Family Foundation brief looks at three new proposed federal regulations that detail how the ACA’s rules will operate.

    

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