Health Care Reform Compliance Update

Is your company in compliance with the new Health Care Reform Law? 

Several provisions of the health care reform law affect employer-sponsored health plans in 2010 and 2011.  The following items are effective for plan years, starting on or after September 23, 2010:

• Extension of dependent coverage for adult children up to age 26
• Elimination of lifetime and annual limits
• Elimination of pre-existing condition exclusions for enrollees under age 19
• Limits on rescissions of coverage (except in the case of fraud or intentional misrepresentation)
• Coverage of preventive health services (except for grandfathered health plans)
• Several patient protections go into effect for non-grandfathered health plans
• Nondiscrimination rules for non-grandfathered, fully-insured plans
• Required new appeals process implemented for non-grandfathered plans
Other provisions that affect businesses in 2010 or 2011 include:

• Qualified small employers can receive a credit for purchasing employee health insurance starting with the 2010 tax year.
• Employers that provide coverage to early retirees from 2010 to January 1, 2014 may be eligible for some reimbursement.
• Eligible small employers can adopt a Simple Cafeteria Plan starting in 2011.
• Beginning in 2011, over-the-counter drugs may not be reimbursed through an FSA, HRA or HSA without a prescription.
• The penalty tax on non-medical HSA withdrawals increases from 10 to 20 percent in 2011.
• New W-2 reporting requirements are effective, but optional for the 2011 tax year (mandatory for 2012 tax year).

Source: The Ward Agency