HHS releases document listing largest three small group products by state
Posted on January 30, 2012 |
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The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released a document which provides illustrative information to complement the bulletin on essential health benefits (EHB) under the Affordable Care Act released on December 16, 2011. While the document included names of plans, it did not indicate what benefits are covered by those plans or what benefits it would like to see in future plans. The HHS document provides a list of the products with the three largest enrollments in the small group market in each State using data from HealthCare.gov. It provides the names of the three largest products in each State ranked by enrollment. In addition, it provides a list of the top three nationally available Federal Employee Health Benefit Program (FEHBP) plans based on enrollment. The purpose of the list, according to HHS, is to facilitate a better understanding of the intended approach to EHBs.
December 20, 2011
On December 16, 2011, the HHS Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight (CCIIO) released an Essential Health Benefits Bulletin, whose purpose is to “provide information and solicit comments on the regulatory approach that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) plans to propose to define essential health benefits under section 1302 of the Affordable Care Act.” Comments on the Bulletin can be sent directly to EssentialHealthBenefits@cms.hhs.gov and will be accepted until January 31, 2011
October 21, 2011
Under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) beginning January 1, 2014, state insurance Exchanges become operational and comprehensive insurance market reforms take effect. One of the most significant market reforms is the requirement that all health insurance plans sold in the individual and small group (100 employees or fewer) markets – whether sold outside or inside state insurance Exchanges – cover “essential health benefits” (EHBs). The definition of EHBs also will apply to Medicaid “benchmark” plans, the specified coverage standard for individuals made newly eligible by the ACA’s Medicaid expansions.
December 20, 2011
On December 16, 2011, the HHS Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight (CCIIO) released an Essential Health Benefits Bulletin, whose purpose is to “provide information and solicit comments on the regulatory approach that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) plans to propose to define essential health benefits under section 1302 of the Affordable Care Act.” Comments on the Bulletin can be sent directly to EssentialHealthBenefits@cms.hhs.gov and will be accepted until January 31, 2011
December 16, 2011
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has issued a pre-rule informational Bulletin which lays out its proposed approach for determining the Essential Benefits package required of all qualified health plans (QHPs) under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). HHS deferred to States' judgment by allowing a State to create a benchmark essential benefits package from a currently-available plan within the State, as long as the package includes benefits from the ten benefit categories laid out in the ACA. HHS proposes that States choose the benchmark plan from a list of plan types:
- One of the three largest small group plans in the State by enrollment
- One of the three largest State employee health plans by enrollment
- One of the three largest federal employee health plan options by enrollment
- The largest HMO plan offered in the State’s commercial market by enrollment
October 7, 2011
The Institute of Medicine (IOM) of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) has released their highly-anticipated essential benefits report. The report, "Essential Benefits: Balancing Coverage and Cost," recommends that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) consider cost of services as factor when determining the specific benefits qualified health plans (QHPs) must include. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires the Secretary of HHS to come up with a minimum essential benefits package that all health plans must offer by January 1, 2014, and HHS tasked the IOM with making recommendations on how HHS should determine which benefits to include.
For more information on essential benefits, click here.
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