By Ilyse Schuman Finding that Congress properly exercised its legislative power under the Constitution’s Commerce Clause in enacting the Affordable Care Act’s minimum coverage provision – commonly referred to as the Act’s “individual mandate” to purchase health insurance – the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit affirmed a lower court’s determination that the… Continue Reading
Monthly Archives: June 2011
Bill Would Extend COBRA Benefits to Same-Sex Spouses, Domestic Partners and Their Dependents
Last week Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA) reintroduced the Equal Access to COBRA Act of 2011 (H.R. 2310), legislation cosponsored by 47 others that would extend COBRA continuation health coverage to covered employees’ same-sex spouses or domestic partners and their dependent children. Under existing law, up to 36 months of continuing health care coverage under COBRA… Continue Reading
Agencies Amend Internal Claims and Appeals and External Review Process Regulations, Issue Compliance Document
By Ilyse Schuman The Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and the Treasury have amended the interim final regulations released in July 2010 that imposed new requirements on group health plans (both self-insured and insured) for internal appeals of claim denials and required an independent external appeal process in accordance with the Affordable Care… Continue Reading
HHS Issues Guidance on Renewing Annual Limit Waivers under Affordable Care Act
By Ilyse Schuman The Department of Health and Human Services’ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued new guidance for health care plans seeking to renew waivers on annual benefit limits below $1.25 million for plan years starting after September 23, 2011 and below $2 million for plan years starting after September 23,… Continue Reading
Survey Finds Large Number of Employers Plan to Discontinue Health Coverage in 2014
By Ilyse Schuman A new survey by the McKinsey consulting group of more than 1,300 employers suggests that more than 30 percent of employers are inclined to drop their employee health benefit plans in 2014 when many of the Affordable Care Act’s provisions take effect. Other key findings of the survey published in the June… Continue Reading
Proposed Legislation to Provide Tax Relief for Domestic Partner Health Coverage
By Russell D. Chapman In early June, a bipartisan group of House members led by Congressman Jim McDermott (D-WA) introduced the Tax Parity for Health Plan Beneficiaries Act of 2011 (H.R. 2088), which would extend the income tax exemption for employer-provided health care benefits to domestic partners and other non-spouse dependents of covered employees. According… Continue Reading
Physician-Owned Hospitals Continue Fight Against PPACA Restrictions
By George O’Brien Last month the Physician Hospitals of America (PHA) and Texas Spine and Joint Hospital (TSJH) took the latest legal step in their joint effort to repeal a provision in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) that effectively limits the construction or expansion of Medicare-covered physician owned hospitals. On May 27,… Continue Reading