MHA Health Care Aide

HHS: Nearly 50,000 people enrolled in Pre-existing Condition Insurance Plan

Nearly 50,000 people are enrolled in the Pre-existing Condition Insurance Plan, according to a report released Feb. 23 by the Department of Health and Human Services. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act created the program as a bridge to 2014, when the ACA prohibits denying coverage to people with pre-existing conditions. Twenty-seven states have elected to administer their own programs, often in coordination with existing high-risk pools, while HHS operates the program in the remaining states.

Many PCIP participants have serious health conditions, which has contributed to higher per-member claims costs in state-based PCIPs than traditional state high-risk pools, HHS said.

[ via AHA News Now ]

CMS issues FAQs on intended approach to essential health benefits

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on Feb. 17 issued answers to Frequently Asked Questions on the agency’s intended approach to defining “essential health benefits” for individual and small group health insurance plans under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. In December, CMS issued a bulletin outlining proposed EHB policies the agency plans to define in future rulemaking.

The FAQs are intended to provide additional guidance to states and others working to establish health insurance exchanges. For more information, e-mail CMS at EssentialHealthBenefits@cms.hhs.gov.

The agency also plans to release future guidance on Medicaid benchmarks and essential health benefits.

Administration highlights business healthcare tax credits in Obama budget

President Obama's proposed budget would expand the health law's healthcare tax credits by about $14 billion over a decade, the administration highlighted Feb. 16. Under the law, companies with 25 or fewer workers that pay for at least half of employees' healthcare coverage can claim progressively higher tax credits (up to 50 percent starting in 2014). The president's budget would increase the size of eligible companies to those with 50 or fewer workers, make it more generous and make it easier to claim.

Read more here.

Small Business Health Insurance Exchanges: Potential And Pitfalls

The Affordable Care Act’s state health insurance exchanges for small businesses present a host of opportunities for states now creating them, but they also present design and regulatory challenges that could make or break the success of the program, according to a cluster of articles in the February issue of Health Affairs, released Feb. 8.

Read more here.