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.
