Updated: Department of Insurance Consumer Services ACA Toolkit
Sally McCarty, David Cusano, Justin Giovannelli, and Max Farris, Georgetown University Health Policy Institute
In order to ensure that Consumer Services Divisions within state insurance regulatory agencies are equipped with the necessary resources to assist consumers experiencing insurance problems, the State Health Reform Assistance Network (State Network) team at the Georgetown University Health Policy Institute has developed a toolkit intended as a guide for consumer service representatives (CSRs). The passage of the Affordable Care Act requires CSRs to maintain a level of familiarity with a new set of marketplace rules, benefit requirements, and reforms that regulate health insurer behavior. Assuring that CSRs are familiar with these new requirements presents a significant challenge to busy insurance regulators who also have additional new responsibilities under the ACA.
The resources in this toolkit include a reference manual with multiple entries across a number of categories, a glossary of acronyms, terms, and definitions, a benefits crosswalk template, and a reference table illustrating the applicability of ACA provisions to grandfathered and self-funded plans. The toolkit is in word format and is designed to be a template which insurance regulators can use to create their own state-specific manual tailored to individual state laws, rules, and bulletins. This toolkit is designed to be used in real time when CSRs are interfacing with consumers.
As of June 24, 2015, this document has been revised to reflect the below changes.
Section I – Health Insurance Basics
The description of “Health Savings Accounts” has been revised to include the contribution amounts for 2015.
The definition of “excepted benefit plans” has been revised to reflect the requirements under the final rule.
Section III – Purchasing and Renewing a Policy
The definition of “rescission” has been revised to more accurately reflect the requirements under federal law.
Section IV – Enrollment Eligibility
The open enrollment periods and triggering events have been revised to reflect updates to federal law.
The prohibition on waiting periods description has been revised to reflect a permissible one-month orientation period.
Section V – Discrimination
An additional example of discrimination has been added in the 2nd paragraph of the “discrimination in benefit plan design prohibited” subsection.
Section VI – Policy Coverage Requirements
The out-of-pocket limits have been updated.
The section addressing separate out-of-pocket maximums for benefits administered by third party administrators has been deleted because it’s no longer applicable.
Section VII – Notice Requirement
First paragraph has been updated to note that the SBC must be provided within 90 days of special enrollment.
The “accessibility of applications and notices” subsection has been updated to note that oral interpretation includes telephonic interpreter services in 150 languages.
The Center for Medicaid and CHIP Services (CMCS) explained the transition to “Account Transfer 2.0” (AT 2.0) in a CMCS Informational Bulletin (CIB) released on October 10, 2024. The CIB indicates significant federal investment in improving the process of transferring consumer application information between state Medicaid and CHIP agencies and the Marketplace in the states using the federal platform. This expert perspective reviews the CIB and highlights opportunities for states to improve account transfer data under the CIB.
On September 9, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released a new collection of federal Medicaid and CHIP reporting templates designed to assist states in monitoring Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) compliance in Medicaid and CHIP. Informal public comment is requested by December 2, 2024. This expert perspective reviews the reporting templates to highlight considerations for states and support the formulation of comment submissions.
On April 2, 2024, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services offered a new option for states to update their essential health benefits (EHB) benchmark plan to require coverage of routine adult dental benefits. While there are multiple drivers of inequities in oral health, a primary barrier to accessing dental services is the cost of care, a barrier that can be reduced with dental insurance. This expert perspective provides an overview of the newly available flexibility and discusses considerations for states weighing whether to add a requirement that plans subject to EHB cover routine adult dental care.
