Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois


 

February 1, 2013

Legislative Update: Federal Government Delays Exchange Notification Requirement for Employers, Issues Guidance on HRAs

On Jan. 24, 2013, the U.S. Departments of Labor, Health & Human Services (HHS) and Treasury released an FAQ providing guidance on a number of Affordable Care Act (ACA) provisions.

Of particular note, the Labor Department has delayed the deadline for employers to send notices to their employees about the availability of Health Insurance Exchanges.

Originally, the deadline was March 1, 2013. The new deadline will be in late summer or early fall, in order to coincide more closely with the exchange open enrollment date of Oct. 1, 2013. The FAQ states that additional guidance will be issued on this topic in the future.

Health Reimbursement Arrangements
In addition, the FAQ addresses several questions related to Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRA). Specifically, the departments distinguished between HRAs that are combined with employer-sponsored group coverage (“integrated”), and those that are “stand-alone” HRAs. Stand-alone HRAs appear to violate ACA’s prohibition on annual dollar limits, while integrated HRAs may be permissible, provided the underlying employer-sponsored group coverage complies with ACA’s prohibition on those limits. The FAQ went on to provide examples of both integrated and stand-alone HRAs.

The departments indicated that they planned to issue additional guidance on HRAs.

 
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