[HR Update] Health Care Reform. It's Here - Now What?

Health Care Reform 2010. Its here - now what

As you know Health Care Reform is very complex and parts of the reform are scheduled to be phased in from now through 2018. Employerswho have an upcoming renewal should focus their time on two major areas:

1) Evaluate your current broker: Now, more than ever, it is critical that your broker be a partner not just a service provider. The type of broker that comes in prior to renewal with a few plan change options or even recommending a complete change in healthcare provider will become extinct. Employers need to align with a broker that is very proactive and is constantly looking for the best solutions for their clients. A broker that has been a leader in providing information regarding how this reform will affect its clients and developing a strategy to minimize impact on their organization.

2) Keep or lose your Grandfathering status: It is critical to evaluate the impact of keeping or losing your grandfathering status. According to the most recent regulations, an employer that wants to maintain their grandfathered status cannot:

• Cut or significantly reduce benefits
• Raise co-insurance charges
• Raise co-payment charges by more than $5
• Raise deductibles significantly
• Reduce employer contributions by more than 5 percentage points
• Change insurance companies

If an employer decides to maintain their grandfathering status they could sidestep certain requirements of the health care reform law such as:

• Employers would be prevented from having employees pay a share of the costs of preventative health programs
• Establishing external review procedures for the claims appeals process
• Meeting certain quality of care requirements
• Additional reporting on employees W-2 tax forms