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Fact sheet clarifies excluded plans and excepted benefits
Do you get a lot of questions about which plans are excluded from health care reform? Then check out our new fact sheet for answers.
The fact sheet clarifies which benefits are considered "excepted benefits." In general, the health care reform law does not apply to excepted benefits. Certain benefits are always treated as excepted benefits because they are not considered health coverage. Other benefits are treated as excepted benefits if they are offered separately or are not an integral part of the health plan.
Template language for employers posted on reform website
The health care reform law requires health insurance issuers and sponsors to provide certain notices to employees, either as a separate notice or as part of other benefits materials. To help employers comply with these requirements, we've posted a template language library on our health care reform website for employers and brokers.
The library contains two types of language:
· Required language mandated by health care reform regulations, including:
o Grandfathered plan disclosure
o Annual limit waiver
o Dependent special enrollment right
o Lifetime limit special enrollment right
· Optional language employers can use to explain key reform-related topics such as these in a consumer-friendly way:
o Meaning of "grandfathered"
o No pre-ex waiting periods for children
o Spending account changes
o W-2 reporting
o Exchanges
Employers can copy and paste the language they need and then customize as necessary. As we continue to receive additional guidance from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Labor and Internal Revenue Service, we'll update the document as needed.
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