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Tag: Employer Group

New Cobra Notice That Integrates Marketplace Language

Administration announces proposal to clarify availability
of Health Insurance Marketplace coverage to workers eligible for COBRA

WASHINGTON —The Obama administration today announced updates to model notices informing workers of their eligibility to continue health-care coverage through the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act. The updates make it clear to workers that if they are eligible for COBRA continuation coverage when leaving a job, they may choose to instead purchase coverage through the Health Insurance Marketplace.

“In many cases, workers eligible for COBRA continuation coverage can save significant sums of money by instead purchasing health insurance through the Marketplace,” said Assistant Secretary of Labor for Employee Benefits Security Phyllis C. Borzi. “COBRA continues to play an important role in helping workers and families maintain coverage after a job loss, and it is important that workers know that in some cases there is a Marketplace option as well.”

Workers and their families who are eligible for employer-sponsored coverage generally must be informed of their right to COBRA continuation coverage at the start of employment. They must also be informed of their right to purchase COBRA coverage when separating from a job. The proposed changes to the model notices would offer information on more affordable options available through the Marketplace, where workers and families may be eligible for financial assistance that would not otherwise be available for COBRA continuation coverage. In most cases, workers and their families eligible for, but not enrolled in, COBRA continuation coverage would be able to enroll in Marketplace coverage outside of the normal open enrollment period.

“We are pleased that the Marketplace is providing affordable health insurance options to consumers,” said Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Marilyn Tavenner. “With over eight million enrollees, we know that the Marketplace is working and is providing consumers with additional choices and control over their health care.”

The Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Treasury are also publishing frequently asked questions related to the proposed changes to model notices. The FAQs are posted on the Department of Labor website at http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/faqs/faq-aca19.html and the HHS website at http://www.cms.gov/CCIIO/Resources/Fact-Sheets-and-FAQs/aca_implementation_faqs19.html. In addition, HHS is publishing a clarifying bulletin regarding a special enrollment period in the Marketplace for individuals already enrolled in COBRA continuation coverage. The bulletin is posted on the HHS website at http://www.cms.gov/CCIIO/Resources/Regulations-and-Guidance/Downloads/SEP-and-hardship-FAQ-5-1-2014.pdf.

The updated model notices are posted on the Department of Labor website at http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/modelgeneralnotice.doc and http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/modelelectionnotice.doc. A related notice of proposed rulemaking on the COBRA notice requirements will be published in the May 7 edition of the Federal Register. The notice of proposed rulemaking can also be viewed here at http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/pdf/cobranprm.pdf.

The Obamacare Change That’s Unpopular in Blue States

State-run health insurance exchanges are squabbling with the Obama administration over who should be responsible for deciding who deserves a free pass from Obamacare’s unpopular individual mandate.  At least seven state exchanges have sharply criticized an administration proposal that would shift responsibility for determining eligibility for mandate exemptions onto the state-run marketplaces in the 2015 enrollment period, scheduled to open Nov. 15. The states warn they don’t have the technical ability or funding to handle requests from people seeking a pass from the Affordable Care Act’s requirement to obtain insurance coverage or pay a fine. Some states have urged the Department of Health and Human Services to dump the proposal, while others are asking to delay its implementation by at least a year.

Read full article here.

Contact Steven Cosby with questions or to request more information and to schedule a healthcare plan evaluation, savings analysis or group plan solution for your company.

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Health Care, Heating Prevent First-Quarter Contraction in U.S. GDP

The U.S. economy might have shrunk in the first quarter if not for the Affordable Care Act and spending to keep out the cold.  U.S. gross domestic product expanded a paltry 0.1% in the first three months of the year, dragged down by falling inventories and weaker exports. Spending on housing and utilities, meanwhile, contributed 0.73 percentage point to the change in GDP while spending on health care added a hefty 1.1 percentage points, the highest figure on record.  “If health-care spending had been unchanged, the headline GDP growth number would have been -1.0%,” said Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics.

Read full article here.

Contact Steven Cosby with questions or to request more information and to schedule a healthcare plan evaluation, savings analysis or group plan solution for your company.

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Law Removes Deductible Limits for Small-Group Plans

President Barack Obama signed into law on April 1, 2014, the Protecting Access to Medicare Act. Although the main thrust of the bill is to prevent double-digit cuts in Medicare reimbursement to doctors from taking effect this year, tucked away inside the legislation was an important change to an Affordable Care Act (ACA) provision affecting group plans for small employers.Section 213 of the law now eliminates deductible limits imposed under the ACA for small-group market employer health plans. The new law, which took effect immediately, will allow more flexibility for plan designs.

Read full article here.

Contact Steven Cosby with questions or to request more information and to schedule a healthcare plan evaluation, savings analysis or group plan solution for your company.

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