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Federal Health Reform and You. Ted Loftness , MD Vice President & Medical Director, Medica. What We’ll Discuss. A broad overview of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act Some key details. U.S. Supreme Court Decision, June 2012. The Individual Mandate
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Federal Health Reform and You • Ted Loftness, MD • Vice President & Medical Director, Medica
What We’ll Discuss • A broad overview of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act • Some key details
U.S. Supreme Court Decision, June 2012 • The Individual Mandate • Constitutional under Commerce Clause? • Constitutional under “Necessary and Proper”? • Constitutional as a tax? • Expansion of Medicaid • Constitutional under Congress’ spending power?
What’s in the Law • Access • 32 million Americans will be eligible for subsidized coverage • 23 million estimated to remain uninsured • Insurance reform • Guarantee Issue and elimination of coverage limits • Requirements of employers, individuals • “Play or pay”? A new marketplace • The exchange • Costs • Premiums and national spending will go up • Debate on the impact to the federal deficit • Pay-fors • A number of taxes and fees, changes affecting Medicare
Employer Mandates • Automatic Enrollment (beginning 2015) • An employer that has more than 200 full-time employees must automatically enroll new full-time employees in a health plan • Employer must include adequate notice and the opportunity for an employee to opt out of any coverage. • Notice to Employees about the exchange • At the time of hiring, employers must give new employees written notice informing them of the existence of the exchange • Employees must be notified that they may be eligible for a premium tax credit through the exchange if the employer benefit plan is unaffordable
Employer Penalties • Beginning in 2014, an employer with at least 50 fulltime employees may be subject to a penalty : • Penalty 1: if the employer does not offer minimum essential coverage $2,000 for each full-time employee, minus the first 30 employees • Penalty 2: if the employer offers unaffordable coverage $3,000 for each full-time employee who receives a premium tax credit or cost-sharing subsidy The penalty for offering unaffordable coverage cannot be more than the penalty for not offering coverage
From Kaiser Health News, Aug 8, 2012. Political Cartoon: "Customer Care" By Chip Bok, Akron Beacon Journal
A Tax, Not An ‘Individual Mandate’ • Takes effect January 1, 2014 • Does not apply if : • Uninsured for less than three consecutive months • The premium exceeds 8% of annual household income • Taxable income is below 100% of the federal poverty level • Penalty is 1/12 of the greater of the following • 2014: 1% of income or $95 • 2015: 2% of income or $325 • 2016: 2.5% of income or $695 • After 2016: $695 multiplied by the cost of living adjustment, rounded to the next lowest multiple of $50
Reform Is Driving Profound ChangesThat Will Affect Everyone • Mergers and acquisitions • Hospital consolidation • Insurer consolidation (especially Medicare, Medicaid) • Lines blurring between providers, insurers • Accountable care organizations • Vertically (or virtually) integrated companies that provide both health care and health insurance • Physicians becoming employees • “Pay or Play” decisions for employers, individuals
More Patients, Same Number of Doctors From Kaiser Health News, Aug. 7, 2012. By Jerry King, artizans.com.
Reform So Far … And Still To Come Already in place • Dependents covered to age 26 • No lifetime benefit limits (for essential benefits) • Begin phase out of annual limit on (essential) benefits • No pre-existing condition exclusion for kids • Preventive services covered at 100% • Medical Loss Ratio (MLR) and rebate requirements • 80% MLR for individual and small group • 85% MLR for large group • Rules for grandfathered/non-grandfathered plans Ahead • Transformation of 1/6th of the U.S. economy
What Is Guarantee Issue?” • Requires health plans to accept or renew every individual and every employer (large and small) that applies for coverage • Prohibits any pre-existing condition exclusions or discrimination based on health status • Permits insurers to hold open enrollment periods • Open enrollment for individuals • October 1, 2013 through March 31, 2014 • October 15, through December 7 of each following year • Open enrollment for small group coverage inside the exchange begins on October 1, 2013 • Requires special open enrollment periods for “qualifying events” – those defined under COBRA.
What Are ‘Rating Changes’? • Rating limitations apply for all individual and small groupplans • No rating based on health status • Rating variation is only allowed for the following • Age - 3:1 ratio across age bands • Tobacco - 1.5:1 ratio maximum • Individual or family enrollment • Geography • Rating limitations do not apply to large group coverage until/unless a state elects to allow large groups to purchase through the exchange after 1/1/2017
Limits on Deductibles and Out-of-Pocket Cost Sharing Out-of-pocket cost sharing limited to the annual limits for High Deductible Health Plans • Current limits • $ 6,050 (Individual) • $12,100 (Family) • Small group deductibles limits • $2,000 for individual coverage and • $4,000 for family coverage • Will apply to all small group plans (inside, outside the exchange)
What Are ‘Essential Health Benefits’? • We don’t yet know the answer to this question • States are responsible for defining essential health benefits • Waiting for final guidance on many questions • For example, will services such as these be “essential” • habilitative • Vision • pediatric dental care
What Are ‘Actuarial Values’? • Every small group and individual product inside and outside of the exchanges must meet one of the following actuarial values. • 60% - Bronze • 70% - Silver • 80% - Gold • 90% - Platinum • Federal government will develop a calculator for plans to measure actuarial value. • States can use state specific data to fine tune the actuarial value • Deviation of +/- 2% allowed • Employer contributions to HSA or HRA counts toward benefit • Individual HSA contributions do not count toward benefit
Product Changes cont. • Additional Product Options/Requirements • Catastrophic plan • Available only to individuals under the age of 30 or individuals exempt from minimum essential coverage requirement • Allows for higher deductibles (up to annual out-of-pocket limits) • Child only policies • If a carrier offers a product then that carrier has to offer a child only version of that product • Two tiered pricing allowed – regular/child only
The Exchange: Early Planning in MN • Two Exchanges – Individual and Small Group • Separate risk • Separate products • One ‘portal’ for all consumers; individual, small group, Medicaid • Exchange products must be ‘qualified health plans’
Key Timeline: MN Exchange • MN Exchange Expected Timeline • Fall 2012 • Application to federal government for certification • Define ‘Essential Health Benefits’ • Define ‘Qualifying Health Plan’ requirements • January 2013 • Approval by federal government for MN’s exchange plan
The Exchange:Navigators andAgents/Brokers Navigator Program Minimum of 2 types of entities must qualify as Navigators; 0ne must be a community and consumer-focused non-profit Also eligible: trade associations, Chambers of Commerce, unions, and licensed agents and brokers Navigators Must Not Be a health insurance issuer or subsidiary; Be an association that includes members of, or lobbies on behalf of, the insurance industry; or Receive any reimbursement directly or indirectly from any health insurance issuer Agent or broker Many unanswered questions about their role Who will compensate them; the exchange or insurers?
Federal Health ReformTaxes and Fees Include • Premium tax on insurers and self-insured employers beginning July 31, 2013 ($1 per covered live; rises to $2/per in subsequent years) • $27B annual fees on pharmaceutical manufacturers • 2.3% excise tax on medical device manufacturers • Raise to 10% the floor for tax deductible medical expenses (now 7.5%) • Limit flexible spending account contributions to $2,500 annually • Reinsurance Program Fee, per capita • Assessments on products offered through health insurance exchanges • Medicare Hospital Insurance Tax on employees will go two-tiered • 1.45% rate on wages up to $200,000 single/$250,000 joint • 2.35% rate on wages above those levels • New 3.8% Medicare tax on net investment income (interest, dividends, capital gains, etc.) above the $200,000/$250,000 incomes
The Interconnectedness of Reform 1. Insurance market reforms • Guaranteed issue • No pre-ex conditions • Free preventive care “Child” coverage to age 26 • 4. ‘PayFors’ to fund it • • Taxes/fees on employers, insurers, drug/device makers • Fines (individuals, business) • Lower Medicare/Medicaid pay to doctors, hospitals …which requires which requires… 3. Subsidies for lower income consumers • Medicaid expansions to 133-150% of FPL? • Subsidies to 400% FPL? 2. An effective ‘personal responsibility requirement’ (individual mandate) …which requires