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On December 2, 2015, CMS will publish a notice of proposed rulemaking for its Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters for 2017 (“Proposed Rule”). The Proposed Rule articulates the federal government’s policy for health care coverage under Affordable Care Act programs and would make several notable changes, including stricter network adequacy requirements for qualified health…

According to a new study focusing on consumer information, nearly 25 percent of group health plans provided through Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) exchanges may be violating federal mental-health parity laws.

The study was led by associate professor Colleen Barry of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and is published in the current issue of Psychiatric Services. To conduct the study, Barry and her colleagues reviewed benefit brochures offered in two state-run exchanges during the first ACA enrollment period between 2013 and 2014.

The study alleges two significant problems. First, according to the study plans in the exchange often had financial disparities. For example, the study found that plans would include different co-pays for mental-health and substance-use disorder services from medical/surgical services. Second, according to the study some mental-health and substance-use disorder services had more stringent “prior authorization” requirements than their medical/surgical counterparts. These disparities, the report suggests, can dissuade people from selecting more expensive plans with more generous mental-health and substance-use-disorder benefits. According to the study, because mental-health and substance-use disorder services are often more expensive than medical/surgical services, insurers may benefit when consumers are dissuaded from joining plans with more generous mental-health and substance-use disorder benefits.Continue Reading Study Suggests Many ACA Exchange Plans Violate Federal Parity Laws

On December 17, 2014, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) published on its website a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on its Quality Rating System (QRS) and Qualified Health Plan (QHP) Enrollee Experience Survey for QHPs on the insurance exchanges. Section 1311(c)(3) of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires CMS to develop a system…

On November 26, 2014, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released its proposed Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters for 2016, also known as the “Payment Notice.” Now that HHS has completed the majority of its major rulemakings implementing the Affordable Care Act, the annual Payment Notice has become the recurring opportunity for HHS to modify Affordable Care Act (ACA) policy in a wide variety of subject areas. The 2016 Payment Notice touched on a number of policies, including essential health benefits (EHB), rate review, network adequacy and discriminatory benefit design, among others. Below is a summary of some of the key provisions of the 2016 Payment Notice.

Essential Health Benefits

Section 1302 of the ACA requires all non-grandfathered health plans in the individual and small group markets provide EHB to their beneficiaries. EHB are a comprehensive set of health care items and services. The Secretary of Health and Human Services defines the EHB to be covered; however, at a minimum, EHB must be equal in scope to the benefits covered by a typical employer plan and cover at least 10 general categories. The 2016 proposed Payment Notice would make several changes to the EHB regulations.
First, HHS proposes to establish a universal definition for one of these 10 general categories of care: habilitative services. Currently, issuers are required to match the habilitative services provided by the appropriate base-benchmark plan. When the base-benchmark plan does not offer habilitative services, the state in which the issuer is located may specify the services that are included in that category. If no definition is provided, however, the issuer is obligated to provide habilitative services benefits that are similar in scope, amount, and duration to benefits covered for rehabilitative services or to determine which services will be covered and report the determination to HHS. The proposed rule would alleviate this challenge for issuers by defining habilitative services as “health care services that help a person keep, learn, or improve skills and function for daily living.” Additionally, HHS proposes to remove the option for issuers to determine the scope of habilitative services under 45 C.F.R. § 156.110(c)(6).

Second, HHS wants to clarify that pediatric services should be provided until at least age 19. HHS proposes new language in 45 C.F.R. § 156.115(a) to clarify that coverage for pediatric services should be provided until at least the end of the plan year in which an enrollee turns 19.

Third, HHS proposes to give states the option of selecting a new 2014 plan to serve as their base-benchmark plan for the 2017 plan year. The proposed rule reinstates unintentionally deleted data submission requirements used to determine potential state benchmark plans.Continue Reading 2016 Payment Notice Proposed Rule: Potential Changes to EHBs, Rate Review, and Other ACA Tweaks

An interim final rule addressing third-party premium payments to qualified health plans is under regulatory review at the Office of Management and Budget, according to an online posting on that agency’s website on March 4, 2014. Both providers and payors have anxiously watched for clarifications in this area following a series of conflicting statements from…

On November 25, 2013, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released a Proposed Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters for 2015 regarding the Affordable Care Act’s Transitional Reinsurance Program (TRP) fee.

The Proposed Notice includes the previously announced carve-outs from the TRP fee for the 2015 and 2016 years for certain self-insured, “self-administered” …

On November 14, 2013, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services of the Department of Health and Human Services (CMS) issued a letter to state insurance commissioners detailing the Administration’s new “transitional policy” regarding non-grandfathered coverage in the small group and individual health insurance markets. Under the transitional policy, health insurance issuers may choose to …

In the wake of United States v. Windsor, the case in which the Supreme Court held the Defense of Marriage’s (DOMA) prohibition on federal recognition of same-sex marriages unconstitutional, the Internal Revenue Service issued Internal Revenue Ruling 2013-17. The Ruling held that same-sex individuals who were married under state law would be considered …

On September 19, 2013, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a proposed rule regarding financial integrity and oversight standards with respect to Affordable Care Act Insurance Exchanges.

As of January 1, 2014, Affordable Insurance Exchanges (“Exchanges”) can make available private health insurance coverage for qualified individuals and employers. This proposed rule outlines…

On August 7, 2013, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) released a proposed rule on federal employee health benefits for members of Congress and congressional staff. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) contains a provision requiring Congress and their staff to obtain health insurance coverage via an Affordable Insurance Exchange or a health plan created by …