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CCH® BENEFITS — 05/10/10

HHS Issues Initial Guidance On Health Reform Web Portal

from Spencer’s Benefits Reports: The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has issued an interim final rule to implement the requirement of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (P.L. 111-148) requiring the establishment of an Internet Web site (“Web portal”) through which individuals and small businesses can obtain information about the insurance coverage options that may be available to them in their state. Under Sec. 1103 of the Affordable Care Act, HHS must establish this Internet portal no later than July 1, 2010. The rule is scheduled to appear in the May 5 Federal Register. The regulations are effective on May 10.

The interim final rule adopts the categories of information that will be collected and displayed as Web portal content, and the data that will be required from issuers and requested from states, associations, and high risk pools in order to create this content.

According to the preamble to the interim final rule, in implementing these requirements, HHS seeks “to develop a Web site (hereinafter called the Web portal) that would empower consumers by increasing informed choice and promoting market competition. To achieve these ends, [HHS intends] to provide a Web portal that provides information to consumers in a clear, salient, and easily navigated manner. [HHS plans] to minimize the use of technical language, jargon, or excessive complexity in order to promote the ability of consumers to understand the information and act in accordance with what they have learned.”

At a minimum, the Web portal will provide information on the following:

According to the interim final rule, HHS plans to contract with a vendor that has a “health insurance pricing engine and a related Web site with portal plan identification and comparison functionality through a full and open competition.” HHS stated that “the work on this contract will not be completed in time for the July 1, 2010 release of the Web portal.”

Because of this, HHS will collect an initial set of data (health insurance product information) from health insurance issuers in order to present basic information on all issuers and health insurance products in the July 1, 2010, release of the Web portal. This release of the Web portal will only contain the basic information on issuers and their products in the individual and small group markets that was practicable to obtain in the constrained timeframe for meeting the statutory requirement that the Web portal be available for public use by July 1, 2010. HHS will provide a second release of the Web portal on October 1, 2010, with comprehensive pricing and benefit information for individual and small group coverage.

HHS is requiring, by May 21, 2010, that issuers submit the following information:

Comments on the regulations, which must be received 30 days after publication, may be submitted electronically at http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions on the home page. For further information, contact Danielle Harris of HHS at (410) 786-1819.

For more information on this and related topics, consult the CCH Pension Plan Guide, CCH Employee Benefits Management, and Spencer's Benefits Reports.

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