Benefits Buzz
Most health insurance professionals have some familiarity about the government subsidies that will be available next year to eligible individuals. These subsidies will reduce insurance premiums and out-of-pocket medical expenses for those that qualify, and will only be available to individuals that enroll in coverage through health insurance marketplaces, also known as the public exchanges.
Last week, Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD) and Senator Mike Enzi (R-WY) introduced S 9.66, the Medical FSA Improvement Act, to eliminate the Use-It or Lose-It rule by allowing individuals to cash-out unused Flexible Spending Account (FSA) balances with the amounts treated as taxable income.
View the legislative language >>
What could this mean for Americans?
Most employers will be required to provide a written notification to employees in regards to the ability to access coverage through the new Health Insurance Marketplaces, also known as the exchanges. Even employers that don't provide coverage to their employees will be required to provide this written notification.
The Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight (CCIIO) published guidance on May 1, 2013 about the role of insurance producers in the Health Insurance Marketplaces, also referred to as the public exchanges.
The guidance suggests that insurance producers will play a valuable role in facilitating public exchange enrollments starting this October.
The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a statement on April 30, 2013 that the public exchange applications, officially referred to as the Marketplace Consumer Applications, have been revised.
The Invidual Short Form is now just three pages in length. The Family Form is also said to have been reduced by about two-thirds its original length.
Recent guidance helped clarify some of the confusion about Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) fees applicable to Health Reimbursement
Arrangements (HRAs) and Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs). It was originally thought that the fee would be applicable to all covered lives including spouses and dependents. That is no longer the case in some instances.
