Health Insurance Reform Issues Student Health Insurance

With a law as complicated as the Patient Protection and Cost-effective Care Act (PPACA), unintended consequences are usually a concern. Last week The Wall Street Journal reported that the physician community is witnessing the emergence of a substantial unintended consequence — since tax-advantaged flexible spending accounts can no longer be utilized to spend for more than-the-counter medications without a prescription, beneath the law, countless patients are now visiting their doctors expressly for the objective of obtaining new prescriptions for the OTC medicines. The transform in the law was meant to discourage wasteful spending on some wellness items and raise revenue. Rather, critics say the provision is driving up health care costs. Unintended consequences of the well being care reform law is an area of focus for Aetna insurance coverage, and will continue to urge flexibility in the implementation procedure to assist address potential unintended consequences.

Federal
In response to diverse requests for clarification (including from Aetna insurance), federal regulators last week issued a Question & Answer document that further refines the earlier proposed rule on student wellness. In short, this clarification makes it clear that nothing from PPACA applies to student wellness plans till policy years starting in 2012 or till academic year 2012-2013. The Q & A also clarified that the proposed regulation need to be finalized to show what parts of the PPACA would apply to student health plans. This is welcome news in the college and university community. Aetna is communicating with its clientele in a manner that is consistent with final week's clarification, although countless schools had been hearing conflicting tips from state regulators.

The Home-passed continuing resolution includes language that would "prohibit the use of funds to pay any employee, officer, contractor, or grantee of any department or agency to implement the provisions" of the PPACA. In a letter to Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius made a few claims that, should the de-funding provisions in the resolution be enacted into law, seniors will shed access to Medicare Advantage plans and other services. Senate Republicans had been fast to dispute these allegations stating, the scenarios the Secretary envisions are not allowed under Congressional rules, are not assumed by the Congressional Spending budget Office (CBO), and can be prevented by HHS.  Senator Orrin Hatch and Strategies and Indicates Committee Chairman Dave Camp also sent Secretary Sebelius a letter expressing their disappointment in what they referred to as the letter's "baseless allegations," and expressing hope that "the urgency with which this letter was sent to Chairman Baucus is also being applied in answering a developing backlog of critical concerns."  The CBO also released a letter concerning the impact of the resolution, such as the impact of the de-funding provisions on Medicare Advantage. The letter shows the de-funding provisions would have a minimal MA budgetary impact of $5.7 billion more than 10 years.