On June 12, the Academy’s Medicare Steering Committee updated its annual issue brief that offers an actuarial perspective on Medicare's financial condition and outlines the public policy options to address the program's long-term financial challenges.
On June 25, the Academy’s Health Practice Financial Reporting Committee released a new white paper providing an overview of provisions in the Affordable Care Act (ACA)—the premium-stabilization programs, new taxes and fees, advanced payments, and existing actuarial liabilities—that may create a certain amount of volatility on future financial statements.
Legislative and Regulatory Updates
On July 1, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released a final rule implementing functions of the health insurance exchanges, as required by the ACA. The final rule sets forth standards and processes under which the exchanges will conduct eligibility determinations for, and grant certificates of exemption from, the individual shared responsibility payment; provides standards for HHS in determining whether certain other types of health insurance coverage constitute minimum essential coverage; and specifies substantive and procedural requirements that other types of individual coverage must fulfill to be certified as minimum essential coverage. The rule is effective Aug. 26.
HHS also released a final rule on July 2 implementing coverage requirements for certain preventive services for women under the ACA, specifically related to coverage of contraception. The final rule clarifies the religious exemption requirements for covering contraception, requires issuers providing insurance coverage to a group health plan that is an “eligible organization” to be solely responsible for providing payments for contraceptive services for plan participants without cost sharing, and finalizes the treatment of student health coverage provided through an eligible organization. The rule is effective Aug. 2.
The White House announced on July 2 that the implementation of the ACA’s employer mandate provision would be delayed until 2015. The employer mandate provision, which requires employers with at least 50 full-time workers to provide health insurance or pay a penalty, was originally scheduled to take effect on Jan. 1, 2014. The administration said it made the decision based on complaints from business leaders, and the delay is expected to allow employers to test any new reporting systems and to make any necessary adjustments to the provision of health benefits. Formal rules addressing the delay will be proposed later this summer.
In the News
A LifeHealthPro story explains the minimum value calculator and mentions the Academy’s role in the actuarial profession.
A Contingenciesarticle that focuses on young adults and the ACA was referenced in several places:
A Healthcare Finance Newsarticle on the Medicare Trustees Report quotes Tom Wildsmith, chair of the Medicare Steering Committee.
The Des Moines Register interviewed Academy President Cecil Bykerk about the HIP Iowa-Fed program.
Cori Uccello, the Academy’s senior health fellow, was quoted in Bloomberg Businessweek about the ACA and was mentioned in an article on Pharmacy Choice for her role on MedPac. Additionally, her congressional testimony on the ACA was mentioned in the Macon, Ga., Telegraph, and her article “Understanding the Reasons for Premium Changes Under the ACA” was listed as a top story on the Health Affairs blog.
The Academy was mentioned in a Health Affairsarticle on Medicare restructuring.
For a complete listing of upcoming and recent health care reform events click here.
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