Updated: August 9, 2010
HHS Announces $51 Million to Establish Insurance Exchanges
On July 29, HHS announced it will provide $51 million in grants for States to set up health insurance exchanges that will allow consumers to compare and select health insurance policies online. Each State and the District of Columbia are eligible for up to $1 million to create an exchange. The exchanges will not take effect until 2014, but analysts have said States must immediately begin working on them. HHS is soliciting comments from States, consumer advocates, employers, insurers, and others on rules and standards that exchanges should be required to meet; these are due by October 4.
Most Employers Will Keep Health Care Benefits—Fidelity Study
According to a Business Insurance
report on a survey by Fidelity, 84% of employers are rethinking their health benefits strategies, but only 20% are considering dropping benefits entirely. The survey was conducted between June 10 and June 30 and includes responses from 459 employers. Findings include:
- 22% of small employers (500 or fewer employees) and 14% of large employers (more than 500 employees) said they were seriously considering eliminating coverage;
- 41% of small employers and 55% of large employers said they were considering implementing high-deductible consumer-driven health plans; and
- 49% of small employers and 25% of large employers expressed concerns about the potential cost of the legislation.
Interim Final Rule Gives Specifications for the Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan Program
Under an interim final rule issued on July 30, by the Department of Health and Human Services, implementing the temporary (until 2014) high-risk health insurance pool program required by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), health insurance coverage for people with pre-existing conditions will be available at the same monthly premium rate as it is for average healthy people. Provisions in the interim final rule will allow alternative formulas to be devised for the nine states that require insurers to issue policies to all applicants or that prohibit health status from being a factor in setting premiums. The rule describes the requirements for eligibility in the program, options for determining who has a pre-existing condition, how to appeal decisions, how Federal funding will be allocated, ways to prevent “dumping” people who have insurance into the program, and strategies for preventing fraud. It also lists benefits under the program. The interim final rule was published in the July 30 Federal Register and comments are due by September 28.
In Case You Missed It:
What Are the Economic Implications of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Urban Institute, J. Holahan and L. Blumberg, 8/4/2010.
In this series of brief reports funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Urban Institute researchers look at how the economy and employment, the deficit, and businesses will be affected.
The authors conclude that it is unlikely the new law will significantly increase the federal deficit, and that health reform should have a small, but generally positive, effect on the economy. The effects on business will also tend to be positive, but costs will vary by employer size.
PPACA Makes Strange Bedfellows: Medicare, Corporate Wellness, Employee Benefit News, Lydell C. Bridgeford, 7/28/2010