Current HBS Legislative Updates
San Jose, California Current HBS Legislative Updates
Health Care Reform Update - August 16, 2010 - There is so much happening with Healthcare reform - it can be difficult to keep it all straight. With that in mind, we have put together a list of key points that can affect Employers in the coming years. We are listing the change or requirement; the proposed effective date; some comments about who may be the responsible party (employer or carrier, etc), and when it may actually effect you and your group - mid-plan year or at renewal. Some rules have a 'true' effective date, and some are due at the first renewal AFTER the rule goes into effect.- Health Care Reform: September 23, 2010 The First Mile Marker - At present, most health plan sponsors are thinking about the impact healthcare reform will have on their upcoming group health plan renewals under the Health Care Reform Rules which go into effect for plan years beginning on or after September 23, 2010. The purpose of this Memorandum is to provide a summary and an analysis of those Health Care Reform Rules and their impact on the renewal process.
- New Interim Rules for Preexisting Condition Exclusions, Lifetime and Annual Limits, Coverage Rescissions, and Patient Protections - The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) requires all group health plans to comply with certain mandates. This issue focuses on the Act's provisions related to preexisting condition exclusions, annual and lifetime limits, rescissions and certain patient protections. The Department of the Treasury, the Department of Labor and the Department of Health and Human Services ("HHS"), the three agencies responsible for implementing the Act's provisions related to group health plans, jointly issued Interim Final Rules ("the Rules") related to these provisions which will be published June 28, 2010 in the Federal Register. Most of the changes discussed in these Rules become effective January 1, 2011, for calendar year plans.
- IRS HSA 2011 Maximums - The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced the 2011 inflation adjusted amounts for health savings accounts (HSAs) in Revenue Procedure 2010-22. IRS Announces No Change to HSA Maximums For 2011.
- Rules Defining Grandfathered Employee Benefit Plans Issued June, 2010 - Rules clarifying the criteria health plans must meet in order to keep their grandfather status under PPACA were released on June 14.