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Tag Archives: Health care reform
Most large employers changing health benefit for 2011
According to a new survey by National Business Group on Health, more than half (53%) of large U.S. employers plan to revise their 2011 health care benefit programs in the wake of health care reform legislation and anticipated large benefit cost increases next year. Continue reading
Lowering costs before reform takes effect will pay off in the long run
Change is definitely on the horizon. The recently passed health care reform legislation is designed to ensure virtually all Americans will have access to reasonably priced medical insurance and, as a result, reasonably priced health care.
As companies move toward new rules and mandates, most will find that implementing measures to reduce health care costs now will pay off in the long run.
According to the Congressional Budget Office, total spending on health care in the U.S. has doubled over the last 30 years and now makes up about 16 percent of the gross domestic product
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Key notification and communication requirements in health care reform
You’ve likely been focusing mostly on the plan design and administration requirements of health care reform. But, the law has a series of new notification and communication requirements that start this year and extend over the next several years.
You’ll need to be thinking not only about the strategic communication needs—how to keep employees engaged in their health and managing costs—but also how to meet these legal requirements in a way that adds the most value. (And, creates the least amount of additional work for you and your team.)
Much is still in flux about the changes in health care, but this article captures the key notification requirements and what to look for as regulations are issued.
Seven health care reform notices Continue reading
Posted in Health Care, Health Care Reform
Tagged health care bill, Health Care Law, Health care reform
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Health-reform regs overhaul claims appeals process
The Obama Administration released interim final regulations aimed at creating a system of checks and balances for the internal and external appeals processes of health claims.
Governed by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the interim final rule requires group health plans and insurers to establish a comprehensive appeals processfor patients who appeal decisions on coverage, services and claim payments. The interim final regulations apply to self-funded health plans, but not to grandfathered plans under the PPACA.
The Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor and the Treasury issued the interim final rule, which will take effect on Sept. 21, 2010. Continue reading
Gov’t unveils new Patient’s Bill of Rights under PPACA
Federal regulators released interim final rules implementing a new Patient’s Bill of Rights under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The guidance addresses preexisting condition exclusions, retroactive rescissions, lifetime limits and annual dollar limits.
Source: Employee Benefit News article used by permission
“These rules effectively put in place a basic set of consumer protections known over the years as the ‘Patient’s Bill of Rights.’ This is a concept introduced 15 years ago and supported by both Democrats and Republicans,” said Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius in an e-mail statement.
The Federal Register will publish the rules on June 28. The new regulations, issued by the Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor and Treasury, will take effect for most plans on or after Sept. 23. For calendar year plans, the rules will take effect Jan. 1, 2011.
The interim final rules, which are nearly 200 pages, focus on PPACA provisions that apply to all health plans, including grandfathered health plans. According to consultants at Hewitt Associates, the provisions in the interim final rules adopt the following: Continue reading
