Affordable Care Act

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Late last year, Congress passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which included a provision  effectively repealing the requirement for most Americans to have health insurance.  This “individual mandate” was originally imposed by the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”). Beginning in 2019, the tax penalty individuals face if they do not enroll in health coverage considered minimum essential coverage (“MEC”) will drop to zero.

For many Americans, the individual mandate was satisfied by the health coverage provided by employers. From an employer perspective, the repeal of the individual mandate penalty might first appear to have little effect. The ACA’s employer shared responsibility provisions (also known as the “pay-or-play penalties”) remain intact, and applicable large employers (“ALEs”)  will likely continue to provide group health coverage to employees and their dependents even though the individual mandate is no longer in effect. And though the Congressional Budget Office projected that an additional 4 million individuals will go uninsured when the federal penalty disappears, most of these individuals were previously insured in the individual market, not the group market.

But the repeal of the federal penalty has spurred activity at the state level that will require employer attention. Many states are concerned that the resulting increase in uninsured individuals will further strain state safety nets, resulting in accelerated efforts to strengthen state insurance markets by imposing state-law individual mandates to reduce the rate of uninsured individuals.
Continue Reading Effects of State Individual Mandates on Employer Group Health Plans

Washington’s Insurance Commissioner Rolls Back Federal Attempt to Expand Access to Short-Term Health Plans

On October 17, 2018, the Office of the Insurance Commissioner (“OIC”) adopted a final rule that defines minimum standards for short-term limited-duration health insurance plans (“short-term plans”) in Washington State and rejects federal efforts to expand their availability. Short-term plans are…

On August 1, 2018, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services issued a final rule that allows individuals to purchase short-term limited-duration health plans. Under the rule, short-term health plans can span an initial period of less than 12 months, with renewals and extensions capped at 36 months. Under the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”), lower-grade…

Ten Republican Senators have introduced a bill that they say will require health insurers to cover pre-existing conditions if the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) is invalidated. Critics counter that the bill offers little actual protection. Like the ACA, it would prohibit insurers from denying enrollment based on pre-existing conditions, but unlike the ACA, it would not require insurers to cover the conditions themselves.

The bill is the latest volley in an ongoing battle over the fate of the ACA. Here are some key steps that set the stage:

  • The 2017 tax bill eliminated the ACA tax penalty on individuals who do not have health insurance, effective as of 2019. This is one of two elements that has brought more healthy people into the individual market; the other is subsidized plans for those in lower income brackets.
  • In April 2018, CMS and HHS issued a rule permitting states to establish the levels of coverage insurers must offer in their health plans. Federal law no longer requires insurers to cover all of the ACA’s “essential health benefits.”
  • This month, hearings in Texas v. United States begin. A group of 20 states will argue that the tax penalty is a constitutional linchpin of the ACA, without which the law is invalid. The states also are asking for a preliminary injunction to halt operation of the ACA while the case is litigated. Seventeen states have filed an opposing motion.
  • The Justice Department is not defending the ACA in the Texas case. It has suggested that without the tax penalty, some parts of the ACA may still be valid, but the individual mandate, the pre-existing condition coverage requirement, and the prohibition on charging higher premiums based on medical history are not.

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Continue Reading ACA Debate Intensifies Ahead of Midterm Elections

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The Health Law Insider blog provides insights about health care-related laws and regulations from Stoel Rives’ dedicated team of health care lawyers and industry experts. This blog covers the full spectrum of regulatory and compliance issues faced by the health care industry, including data privacy and security, fraud and abuse, reimbursement, health care transactions, antitrust, taxation, and insurance regulation.