Enforcement of the employer mandate has been delayed until 2015, along with the annual limit on out-of-pocket costs a patient pays above what insurance covers, but the rest of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) is still scheduled to proceed as planned — although it’s uncertain whether that schedule will be kept.
“Right now there’s been two official delays announced. In theory, all other elements of the PPACA are coming into play. But this is so fluid and volatile that we could see the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announce that the federal exchange is not ready,” says William F. Hutter, CEO of Sequent.
Open enrollment for the health insurance exchanges, aka marketplace, is set to start on Oct. 1 and continue through March.
“They’re trying to build awareness through a marketing campaign but aren’t sure what to do because they haven’t seen how it is going to work,” Hutter says.
Smart Business spoke to Hutter about the upcoming timetable for PPACA implementation and what to expect regarding scheduled deadlines.
What do these delays mean to the implementation of the PPACA?
Pieces of the PPACA are already in place. The Medicare tax is increasing, the decline in flexible spending dollars have come into play, and the underwriting criteria for carriers is going to change how they underwrite and create similarities in pricing models because plans have to be pretty consistent. The age compression standard — rates can only be three times as much because of age — has been set.
Additional taxes also have kicked in, including the Patient Centered Outcome Institute fee. Employer requirements to notify employees have increased, as well.
Major changes are occurring; no one knows how they are going to pull it off. There are so many variables at this time that no one can predict what’s going to happen.
There’s also the question of whether the exchanges will be ready to go on Oct. 1. As of now, only one is ready — California. There’s also Massachusetts, if you consider that an exchange. The HHS has been quiet following a flurry of releases months ago. Something was leaked that the federal exchange might not be ready and since then there’s been no information, which means they might push it close to the deadline.
Meanwhile, companies are left to fend the best they can in anticipation of open enrollment starting.
Are repeal or defunding possibilities?
The repeal votes are all pomp and circumstance. Defunding is possible, but unlikely. The real problem is that no one can figure out how to make the PPACA work. That includes insurance agents and carriers, enforcement entities and employers.
What difference does delaying the employer mandate a year make?
All it means is that employers don’t have to worry about fines or penalties for a year. We’re recommending that companies proceed based on what they think is the best course of action. Companies need to design solutions to fix some of the exposures of the PPACA; it doesn’t matter what type of business you have, what makes a difference is your financial wherewithal. It’s a matter of coming up with a basic solution to address PPACA requirements and deciding how much you want to spend — like getting a combo meal and choosing between small, medium and large. That decision will be based on factors such as company culture and environment.
One emerging tactic is to seek early renewal of plans because of the uncertainty surrounding the PPACA. If you can get your carrier to renew starting Dec. 1, 2013, then you don’t have to worry about the PPACA and its impact until December 2014.
Right now, there’s no breathing room for companies. What happens if you anticipate that the federal exchange will be ready and the HHS announces on Sept. 10 that it will be delayed? Then there are all of the challenges associated with technology, billing and verification of wages. There’s going to be a whole new system that will handle protected health information, is it going to be secure?
There are so many things to be considered; it makes sense to try to schedule your plan year to avoid the inevitability of the PPACA until there is more certainty.
William F. Hutter is CEO at Sequent. Reach him at (888) 456-3627 or [email protected].
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