Thursday, June 28, 2012

SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS THE INDIVIDUAL MANDATE

At approximately 10:00 today, in a vote of 5-4 Chief Justice Roberts, siding with the liberal Justices, read that the Individual Mandate under the Affordable Care Act (Health Reform) is constitutional not as interstate commerce but as a tax.  In other words the government can't force individuals to purchase health care but they can impose a tax penalty if they don't.  


For people in favor of the law, this is an obvious win in their direction.  However, people not in favor of the law, the President, or continued government over-reach could see this as helpful for Romney's presidential bid in November.

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

PPACA-CAREFIRST TO ISSUE MEDICAL LOSS RATIO (MLR) REBATES

PLEASE SEE BELOW FROM CAREFIRST:



The Affordable Care Act requires CareFirst to rebate part of the premiums it received if it does not spend at least 80 percent of the premiums CareFirst receives on health care services, such as doctors and hospital bills, and activities to improve health care quality, such as efforts to improve patient safety. No more than 20 percent of premiums may be spent on administrative costs such as salaries, sales and advertising. This is referred to as the “Medical Loss Ratio” standard or the 80/20 rule. The 80/20 rule in the Affordable Care Act is intended to ensure that consumers get value for their health care dollars. You can learn more about the
80 /20 rule and other provisions of the health reform law at: http://www.healthcare.gov/law/features/costs/value-for-premium/index.html.

What the Medical Loss Ratio Rule Means to You
The Medical Loss Ratio rule is calculated on a State by State basis. In the District of Columbia,  CareFirst did not meet the 80/20 standard. In Virginia the Small and Large Group HMO plans did not meet the 80/20 Standard and in Maryland the Individual Consumer-Driven Only Market was affected.   In 2011, CareFirst spent only 79.2%of a total of $1,000,000 in premium dollars on health care and activities to improve health care quality. Since it missed the 80 percent target by .8% of premium it receives, CareFirst must rebate .8% of the total health insurance premiums paid by the employer and employees in your group health plan. We are required to send this rebate by August 1, 2012, or apply this rebate to the health insurance premium that is due on or after August 1, 2012. Employers or group policyholders must follow certain rules for distributing the rebate.

Ways in Which an Employer Can Distribute the Rebate
If your group health plan is a non-Federal governmental plan, the employer or group policyholder must distribute the rebate in one of two ways: Directed to: Small Groups Platform: Facets

• Reducing premium for the upcoming year; or

• Providing a cash rebate to employees or subscribers that were covered by the health insurance on which the rebate is based. 

Beginning July 9, 2012, CareFirst will distribute rebate checks to 9,870 fully insured employer groups for the 2011 calendar year.

• Rebates differ by product and jurisdiction. The typical group will receive a rebate check between $561 and $10,785.

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

PPACA-HEALTH REFORM UPDATE

As we all wait for the Supreme Court to rule on the future of health reform, there are items in the law that will be taking place in the near future.  Below is a listing of those items:


1)  August, 2012-Rebates will be issued by insurers if medical loss ratio is less than 80% in small group market and 85% in large group market.  Rebates will be issued at the employer level.  


2)  August, 2012-Non-Grandfathered Health plans will be required to offer coverage for Gestational Diabetes Screening and Contraceptive for non-religious, non-exempt employers.
(I  am thinking that most carriers will offer this coverage as its easier for them to manage than trying to determine Grandfathered and Non-Grandfathered eligibility)


3)  Plan years beginning after September 23, 2012-Summary of Benefits will need to be updated to include more easily readable and understandable benefit descriptions.  This responsibility will fall mainly on insurers for fully insured plans.


4)  October, 2012-Comparative Effectiveness Fee-Plans that began after 10-2-2011 will be required to pay $1 per covered life for research to determine effectiveness of medical treatments. This is the portion of the law that concerned a great many people as they believed that these panels would undermine life saving care in place of cost savings.  This fee goes up to $2 per life in 2013 and supposedly goes away in 2019.


5)  Jan, 2013-Flexible Spending Account (FSA) spending limits capped at $2500 for Individual and $5000 for family.  Cap applies to plan years that began after December 31, 2012.


6) 2012 Tax Year-W-2's distributed in 2013 for tax year 2012 for employers who issue more than 250 W-2's will be required to include the total cost of group medical coverage.