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- #31
Participation in 2014
- Thread starter somarco
- Start date
- 4,096
Any company that is doing biz with the state or local gov. could fall into the prevailing wage category.
These are really good clients to have. You can put in place health,dental,vision,life, Std & Ltd. So you can sell a wheel of benefits. The down side is they can have seasonal lay offs.
As a part of the HHS final rule on EHB's released recently, it appears the participation and contribution issue has been addressed. Starting on page 42 of the 145 final rule, it says:
http://ofr.gov/OFRUpload/OFRData/2013-04335_PI.pdf
Comment: We received a few comments about the proposal that issuers would be allowed to decline to offer coverage to small employers for failure to satisfy minimum contribution or group participation requirements under state law or the SHOP standards. Several commenters expressed support for the policy and recommended extending it to the large group market. One commenter emphasized that minimum participation and contribution standards must be reasonable and not burdensome to the point that small employers are discouraged from offering coverage.
Response: Upon further consideration of this issue, we have determined that small employers cannot be denied guaranteed availability of coverage for failure to satisfy minimum participation or contribution requirements. As in the case of the bona fide association exception discussed above, while Congress left in place an exception for failure to meet contribution or participation requirements under the guaranteed renewability requirement in section 2703(b), it provided no such exception from the guaranteed availability requirement in section 2702. To the contrary, language in the guaranteed availability provision for group health plans that was in place before the Affordable Care Act was not included in section 2702. Accordingly, the proposed approach would conflict with the guaranteed availability provisions in section 2702 of the PHS Act. Moreover, permitting issuers to deny coverage altogether to a small employer with between 50 and 100 employees based on a failure to meet minimum participation or contribution requirements could subject such employer to a shared responsibility payment under section 4980H of the Code for a failure to offer coverage to its employees.
While section 2702 contains no exception to guaranteed availability based on a failure to meet contribution or minimum participation requirements, section 2702(b)(1) permits an issuer to limit enrollment in coverage to open and special enrollment periods. Under our authority in section 2702(b)(3) to define “open enrollment periods,” we are providing in this final rule that, in the case of a small employer that fails to meet contribution or minimum participation requirements, an issuer may limit its offering of coverage to an annual open enrollment period, which we set forth in this final rule as the period beginning November 15 and extending through December 15 of each year. As such, the group market will have continuous open enrollment, except for small employers that fail to meet contribution or minimum participation requirements, for which the enrollment period may be limited to the annual enrollment period described above, from November 15 through December 15. This approach addresses concerns about adverse selection in a manner that is consistent with the statutory provisions. We do not extend this provision to the large group market because large employers generally do not present the same adverse selection risk as small employers.
Response: Upon further consideration of this issue, we have determined that small employers cannot be denied guaranteed availability of coverage for failure to satisfy minimum participation or contribution requirements. As in the case of the bona fide association exception discussed above, while Congress left in place an exception for failure to meet contribution or participation requirements under the guaranteed renewability requirement in section 2703(b), it provided no such exception from the guaranteed availability requirement in section 2702. To the contrary, language in the guaranteed availability provision for group health plans that was in place before the Affordable Care Act was not included in section 2702. Accordingly, the proposed approach would conflict with the guaranteed availability provisions in section 2702 of the PHS Act. Moreover, permitting issuers to deny coverage altogether to a small employer with between 50 and 100 employees based on a failure to meet minimum participation or contribution requirements could subject such employer to a shared responsibility payment under section 4980H of the Code for a failure to offer coverage to its employees.
While section 2702 contains no exception to guaranteed availability based on a failure to meet contribution or minimum participation requirements, section 2702(b)(1) permits an issuer to limit enrollment in coverage to open and special enrollment periods. Under our authority in section 2702(b)(3) to define “open enrollment periods,” we are providing in this final rule that, in the case of a small employer that fails to meet contribution or minimum participation requirements, an issuer may limit its offering of coverage to an annual open enrollment period, which we set forth in this final rule as the period beginning November 15 and extending through December 15 of each year. As such, the group market will have continuous open enrollment, except for small employers that fail to meet contribution or minimum participation requirements, for which the enrollment period may be limited to the annual enrollment period described above, from November 15 through December 15. This approach addresses concerns about adverse selection in a manner that is consistent with the statutory provisions. We do not extend this provision to the large group market because large employers generally do not present the same adverse selection risk as small employers.
http://ofr.gov/OFRUpload/OFRData/2013-04335_PI.pdf
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Wait, what? HHS is saying that if you meet participation requirements, you can have an anniversary date in the SHOP exchange of your normal renewal, but if you don't meet participation you have to have a 1/1 anniversary date (enrolled between 11/15 and 12/15)?
There is no way to know what individual participants are going to do until the renewal number is known, they go and shop in the exchange, then compare the two plans. I don't see how the hell that can possibly work, unless companies are going to drop plans for a period of a few months until they are again eligible at the end of the year.
There is no way to know what individual participants are going to do until the renewal number is known, they go and shop in the exchange, then compare the two plans. I don't see how the hell that can possibly work, unless companies are going to drop plans for a period of a few months until they are again eligible at the end of the year.
