Who has a question about reform?  Who better to answer that question than the government?  While I’m sure there are mixed responses to the second question, it’s certainly worth your while to browse through the FAQs below.

The HHS, DOL, and IRS recently issued these FAQs on the implementation of health care reform as Part II and Part III.  (Part I was issued on September 20^th, 2010.)  For simplicity, only the questions are included below.  To view the government’s response and learn what this could mean to if you have a similar situation, please visit their website.

FAQs About the Affordable Care Act Implementation Part II

Grandfathered Health Plans

Q1: Our company sponsors a group health plan for our employees that has been in effect since March 23, 2010. We and the issuer of the policy under the plan are considering whether we could make various changes to the plan without losing grandfathered status. If we avoid making any of the six specific changes described in paragraph (g)(1) of the interim final regulations relating to grandfathered health plans, are there other changes to our existing plan/policy that we need to be concerned could cause it to relinquish grandfathered status?

Q2: My plan offers three benefit package options – a PPO, a POS arrangement, and an HMO. If the HMO relinquishes grandfather status, does that mean that the PPO and POS arrangement must also relinquish grandfather status?

Q3: How do the Departments’ interim final grandfather rules regarding changes in employer contributions apply where an employer restructures its tiers of coverage?

Q4: If an employer plan sponsor raises the copayment level for a category of services (such as outpatient or primary care) by an amount that exceeds the standards set forth in paragraph (g)(1) of the interim final regulations, but retains the copayment level for other categories of services (such as inpatient care or specialty care), will that cause the plan to relinquish grandfather status?

Q5: How do the Departments’ interim final grandfather regulations affect wellness programs sponsored by group health plans?

Dental and Vision Benefits

Q6: What if my dental (or vision) benefits are structured as excepted benefits under HIPAA? Does that exemption except my dental (or vision) plan from the Affordable Care Act’s market reforms?

Rescissions

Q7: The Affordable Care Act (through Public Health Service Act section 2712) generally provides that plans and issuers must not rescind coverage unless there is fraud or an individual makes an intentional misrepresentation of material fact. A rescission is defined as it is commonly understood under the law – a cancellation or discontinuance of coverage that has a retroactive effect, except to the extent attributable to a failure to pay timely premiums towards coverage.

Is the exception to the statutory ban on rescission limited to fraudulent or intentional misrepresentations about prior medical history? What about retroactive terminations of coverage in the “normal course of business”?

Preventive Health Services

Q8: Some of the recommendations and guidelines of the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPTF), the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Advisory Committee) and the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) do not definitively state the scope, setting, or frequency of the items or services to be covered. What should my plan do if an individual requests, for example, daily counseling for diet?

Clarification Relating to Policy Year and Effective Date of the Affordable Care Act for Individual Health Insurance Policies

Q9: Some States and issuers have interpreted the definition of a policy year in the interim final regulation on dependent coverage of children to age 26 to mean that if an issuer establishes a policy year for the insured under an individual policy on a basis other than the effective date of coverage (such as a calendar year beginning January 1, 2012), then the provisions of the Affordable Care Act do not apply to those policies before the start of the policy year. Can compliance with the Affordable Care Act requirements for policies in the individual market sold on or after September 23, 2010 be effective on a date other than the date that coverage begins?

FAQs About the Affordable Care Act Implementation Part III

Exemption for Group Health Plans with Less than Two Current Employees

Q1: Do the HIPAA statutory exemptions in effect since 1997 for group health plans with “less than two participants who are current employees” apply to the Affordable Care Act’s group market reforms?

Q2: I am an employer who sponsors a number of plans including one for both my retirees and individuals on long-term disability. Before the Affordable Care Act, we treated our plan covering retirees and those on long-term disability as exempt under HIPAA. Can we continue to treat that plan as exempt?