Window Open for Employers to Apply for Early Retiree
Reinsurance Program in Health Care Law
Affordable Care Act to provides financial relief for
businesses, unions, state and local governments providing health
insurance for early retirees
Jay Angoff
is the Director of the Office of
Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight for the Department of
Health and Human Services. He is an attorney with extensive experience
in insurance law and related issues, including service as Insurance
Commissioner of Missouri. Read more about the department at bottom of
this news story.
June 30, 2010 - The Department of Health and Human
Services Office of Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight (OCIIO)
announced yesterday that it will begin accepting applications for the
Early Retiree Reinsurance Program (ERRP). Created by the Affordable
Care Act as a bridge to the new health insurance marketplace established
by the Exchanges in 2014, this $5 billion program will provide financial
assistance for employers, including businesses, unions, state and local
governments, and nonprofits, so retirees can get quality, affordable
insurance.
The Affordable Care Act not only helps consumers
cut their health care costs and have more access to quality care, it
also is designed to help employers afford coverage. The Early Retiree
Reinsurance Program will help employers continue to provide much-needed
health insurance to their retirees, said Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.
Today, Americans who have retired but are not yet
eligible for Medicare are often unable to find coverage that is
affordable and meets their health needs on the individual market. This
program will help both retirees and employers facing spiraling health
care costs, and ensure more Americans have access to the health care
they need.
Many Americans who retire without
employer-sponsored insurance and before they are eligible for Medicare
are denied coverage or see their life savings disappear because of
exorbitant rates in the individual market. Until Americans have access
to affordable insurance plans through health insurance Exchanges in
2014, this program will make it easier for retirees and their families
to maintain their employer-based coverage.
The Early Retiree Reinsurance Program will
reimburse employers for medical claims for retirees age 55 and older who
are not eligible for Medicare, and their spouses, surviving spouses, and
dependents. Employers, including state and local governments and unions,
who provide health coverage for early retirees are eligible to apply.
Reimbursements will be available for 80 percent of
medical claims costs for health benefits between $15,000 and $90,000.
Program participants will be able to submit claims for medical care
going back to June 1, 2010.
The law sets aside $5 billion that businesses,
unions and state and local governments can use to cover the healthcare
costs of their retirees - and their spouses and dependents - who are
older than 55 but don't yet qualify for Medicare," reports
The Hill.
The newspapers finds some are worried that money
for the program won't last through 2014, when other parts of the law
take effect. "[A] new report by the Employee Benefit Research Institute
finds that if the subsidy were drawn down for all early retirees and
their dependents, half the money would be exhausted in the first year of
the program.
Yesterday was the first day applications were being
accepted.
A draft application was made available June 7, and
OCIIO has hosted several stakeholder outreach calls to explain the
program. Additional application assistance, including a webinar, will
be available online this week.
Applications for the program, as well as fact
sheets and application assistance can be found at:
www.hhs.gov/ociio.
The Office of
Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight
The Department of Health and Human Services has
been entrusted with the responsibility for implementing many major
provisions of the historic health reform bill, the Affordable Care Act,
which the President signed into law on March 23, 2010. This bill was
further improved by the Health Care and Education Affordability
Reconciliation Act of 2010, which the President signed into law on March
30, 2010. The Office of Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight is
dedicated to helping the Department implement many of the provisions of
the legislation that address private health insurance.
Our office is responsible for ensuring compliance
with the new insurance market rules, such as the prohibitions on
rescissions and on pre-existing condition exclusions for children that
take effect this year. It will oversee the new medical loss ratio rules
and will assist states in reviewing insurance rates. It will provide
guidance and oversight for the state-based insurance exchanges. It will
also administer the temporary high-risk pool program and the early
retiree reinsurance program, and compile and maintain data for an
internet portal providing information on insurance options.
Our office will work closely with state insurance
commissioners and governors, consumers, and stakeholders throughout the
implementation process to ensure the new law best serves the American
people. Website:
www.hhs.gov/ociio
The Office of Consumer Information and Insurance
Oversight will be made up of several offices and divisions.
The Office of Oversight
This office will implement, monitor compliance
with, and enforce the new rules governing the insurance market and the
new rules regarding medical loss ratios. It will also be responsible for
rate review at the federal level, and for providing rate review grants
to states.
The Office of Insurance Programs
This office will administer the temporary high-risk
pool program and associated funding to states, as well as the early
retiree reinsurance program.
The Office of Health Insurance Exchanges
This office will establish policies and rules
governing exchanges, establish and implement planning grants to states,
and provide oversight for the exchanges.
The Office of Consumer Support
This office will compile and maintain data for an
internet portal providing information on insurance options, provide
assistance to enable consumers to obtain maximum benefit from the new
health insurance system, and administer the consumer assistance grant
program for states.
The Directors Office
This office will provide leadership and support to
the entire organization and will have components for planning,
evaluation, regulatory affairs, external affairs, and administrative
management.
Contact Us
The Office of Consumer Information and Insurance
Oversight looks forward to hearing from you.
Jay Angoff
is the Director of the Office of
Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight for the Department of
Health and Human Services. He is an attorney with extensive experience
in insurance law and related issues, including service as Insurance
Commissioner of Missouri. Read more about the department at bottom of
this news story.
'...spouses of people receiving home care on Medicaid
will no longer have to be forced down into poverty before they get help'
- April 15, 2010