With Election Day here, readers may be wondering how the next President will affect the future of the Affordable Care Act. President Obama continues to support the major provisions of the ACA and is pushing for its full implementation. Recently, the Department of Health and Human Services has slowed its …
PPACA CO-OP Health Plans Receive Approval
October 19, 2012 Leave a Comment
Health care reform created a new federal program, the Consumer Operated and Oriented Plan (CO-OP) program, to foster the creation of qualified non-profit health insurance issuers to offer qualified health plans in the individual and small group markets in the states in which the issuers are licensed to offer such …
Guidance on 90-day Waiting Periods for Group Health Plans
September 10, 2012 Leave a Comment
For plan years beginning after December 31, 2013, PPACA generally prohibits both grandfathered and non-grandfathered group health plans from imposing waiting periods greater than 90 days. The IRS[1] recently released Notice 2012-59 (the “Notice”), which provides guidance about new limitations on the maximum …
Employers and Service Providers are Eagerly Awaiting Additional ACA Guidance
July 23, 2012 Leave a Comment
With the Supreme Court’s recent decision upholding the individual mandate of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the last roadblocks to the release of additional guidance and implementation of the Act have been removed. It is increasingly important for employers to start focusing on how their …
Today, the Supreme Court Issued Two Decisions, Holding That:
June 28, 2012 Leave a Comment
The two challenged provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which expand the scope of Medicaid and require most Americans to buy health insurance, are valid exercises of Congress's power under the taxing and spending clauses of the Constitution. But the federal government cannot coerce States …
Some Insurers Commit to Providing Coverage to Adult Children Regardless of the Court’s Decision on PPACA
June 21, 2012 Leave a Comment
On June 11, UnitedHealth Group Inc. announced that it will continue to provide health care insurance coverage for insured participant’s children up to age 26. This coverage will continue regardless of the Supreme Court’s decision expected later this month on the Affordable Care Act. Later that day, Humana …