Saturday, March 29, 2014

March 2014 ACA Update Part II


The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Department of Treasury issued regulations this week on numerous aspects of the Affordable Care Act. To the surprise of very few, another extension was the major news in these releases.

Here We Go Again.....Politics meets Health Care Policy

The healthcare.gov fiasco coincided with the individual policy cancellation tsunami and the results was a gigantic mess which still begs for resolution. The Obama administration eventually provided an option for states to extend ACA non-compliant policies for one year.

This year expires just prior to the mid-term elections, causing a (smaller) torrent of cancellation notices. Prudence being the better part of political non-valor, there is now an option for states to extend the policies for two years until renewals effective October 1, 2016 and after.

Extra Enrollment Month

An extra month was added to the upcoming enrollment season, which coincidentally starts AFTER the midterm election. New deadline is February 15th, 2015.

Out of Pocket Maximums

For 2015, $6,600 for individuals and $13,200 for families. For some a decrease, for many an increase.

Treasury Rules and Regs for Reporting

The IRS is charged with collecting ridiculous amounts of data, is the heavy hand of penalty enforcement and will distribute tax credits.

SHOP

The small business program MAY be delayed, or maybe not. Management by chaos.

And so......

The slow, painful, dysfunctional implementation of the Affordable Care Act continues.

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