The Academy's Benefits and Eligibility Work Group submitted a letter to the HHS Office of Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight on Aug. 27 commenting on the departments of HHS, Labor and Treasury's interim final rules (IFR) that address the elimination of preexisting conditions exclusions, the elimination of lifetime limits and restrictions on annual limits, and other patient protections. The work group provided comments and requests for clarification related to guaranteed issue for children younger than 19, annual lifetime limits, and emergency services.
The Academy has put together a Health Reform Implementation Glossary of health reform related terms in order to make it easier for both our membership and the broader public to understand some of the most important terms and definitions in the new law. Included with these terms and definitions are links to Academy issue briefs that go into more depth with regard to each term and definition.
Legislative and Regulatory Updates
Health Affairs on Sept. 9 published national health expenditure projections for 2009-2019, based on estimates from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The report updates a previous analysis and incorporates changes due to the Affordable Care Act (ACA). According to projections, U.S. health spending will reach $4.6 trillion by 2019, 0.2 percentage points higher than the previous estimate.
In The News/Media Activities
An Aug. 26 National Underwriter Life & Health report regarding a National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) panel's discussion during its summer meeting on how to treat reinsurance arrangements in medical loss ratio calculations cited the Academy Medical Loss Ratio Regulation Work Group's May 14 letter to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Academy volunteer Donna Novak discussed health insurance capital and surplus in the September issue of Managed Healthcare Executive. Novak said that there is a misconception that regulatory minimums for surplus are meant to be operational targets.
News links are to external websites. The Academy is not responsible for the content of these websites.
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