Repealing Tax-Filing Requirement In Healthcare Law

Section 9006 of the health care bill — just a few lines buried in the 2,409-page document — mandates that beginning in 2012 all companies will have to issue 1099 tax forms not just to contract workers but to any individual or corporation from which they buy more than $600 in goods or services in […]

Open Enrollment for Kids Only Policies

Under the health care reform all children under 19 can not be declined or pre x on a health plan. Everyone in the industry had major concerns over this issue.  One of the big concerns was parents would wait until the child had a health care crisis and then enroll them on the plan.  It […]

Mandated Appeals and External Review

Effective first of the plan year or after September 23, 2010 , health plans will have in effect internal claims appeal procedures. Each plan must allow the insured to review his or her plan to present evidence and testimony as part of the appeal process. So what this means is if carrier declines a claim […]

Preventive Care Services Required By Law For Indiana

With the health care reform we are now going to see plans required to cover preventive care. It should be very interesting to see what kind of impact these coverages have on premium. There is no doubt that these additional coverage will increase premium. The problem right now is no one knows what kind of […]

Update on the NAIC’s Role in PPACA Implementation

The medical loss ratio (MLR) is the most important aspect of healthcare reform. This interpretation of this law is going to determine if the private industry stays in business. The one positive thing is the NAIC is in charge of interpreting the MLR. The National Association of Insurance Commissioners was charged by Congress with considerable […]

Indiana HealthCare Reform

As we move through and have a better understanding of this very complicated health care reform it becomes clearer the disconnect from the white house and real life.  This is so complicated and the effects are only going to raise costs. For Small group health plans there is very little chance they can be grandfathered […]

HHS Releases Final Interim Guidance on Several PPACA Provisions

 HHS Releases Final Interim Guidance on Several PPACA Provisions   On June 22, 2010, the Departments of Health & Human Services, Labor, and Treasury issued new regulations that better define the following PPACA provisions: No Pre-Existing Condition Exclusions for Anyone Under Age 19 No Arbitrary Rescissions of Insurance Coverage No Lifetime Dollar Limits on Coverage […]

High-Risk Insurance Pools Cost More

Health care reforms high-risk insurance pools will have difficult choices ahead. The CBO Director Doug Elmendorf laid out the stark choices facing a program. The $5 billion dollars will run out in before 2013. To extend the coverage to 600,000 more Americans would cost $5 -$10 billion more than estimated. Health and Human Services Secretary […]

Health Care Reform Impacts Indiana Maternity Coverage

Starting in the fall, all new health plans must cover certain preventive screenings and other services for pregnant women at no additional cost to the patient. Those include folic acid supplements, which reduce the risk of neural tube defects in developing fetuses, and counseling to help pregnant women stop smoking. Medicaid will also begin to […]

Keeping Grandfathered Health Plans?

The Grandfathered clause of the new health care reform gave individuals and group plans the right to keep their current plans. To keep that grandfathered status you can not make any changes to the plan. So that means you can not raise the deductible or coinsurance to lower the premium.  From a employer standpoint the […]