|
|
Academy Activities |
|
With the enactment of
health care reform legislation, the Academy
is turning its focus to the regulatory phase. The
Health Practice Council has begun creating volunteer
subgroups to analyze and provide comment on a
variety of the new laws' provisions that go into
effect in 2010. Some of the more immediate projects
are related to medical loss ratio reporting and
rebates, benefit and eligibility changes,
grandfathering provisions, the national high-risk
pool, and the new premium review process.
As the pace of reform
developments slows and the regulatory process
begins, Health Check will move to biweekly
publication beginning this month. The next issue
will be published Friday, April 16.
|
| |
Legislative
Updates
 President
Obama signed the Health
Care and Education Reconciliation
Act (P.L. 111-152) into law on March
30. The companion legislation made
adjustments to the Patient
Protection and Affordable Care Act
(P.L. 111-148), which the president
signed into law on March 23.
In
addition to the federal government now
becoming the sole originator of student loans for
postsecondary education, the Health Care and
Education Reconciliation Act will, among other
things:
- Delay the effective date of the
40 percent excise tax on high-cost
employer health plans to 2018 and
modify the threshold amounts that
trigger the tax to $10,200 for
individuals and $27,500 for families
- Modify the penalties for
individuals and families for
non-compliance with the individual
mandate
- Modify the assessments imposed
on employers that do not provide the
required minimum amount of coverage
for their employees
- Reduce the benchmarks for
Medicare Advantage plans relative to
current levels
|
| |
In the News
The
New York Times' Economix blog cited and linked
to the Academy Critical Issues in Health Reform
paper,
Gender Consideration in the Voluntary Individual
Health Insurance Market on March 30. The Academy
wrote that before age 50, women "generally incur
higher medical spending than men, even excluding the
costs of normal maternity care. This difference in
spending translates to higher health insurance
premiums on average for women."
News links are to external websites. The Academy is not responsible for the content of these websites.
|
| |
|
|
|
|
