New Summary of Health Plan Benefits and Coverage Required in 2012

摘要

The Departments of Treasury, Labor and Health and Human Services (Departments) recently proposed jointly a new regulation that, when promulgated, will require insurers and group health plan administrators to distribute a new Summary of Benefits and Coverage (SBC) next year. The SBC is intended to enable employers and health plan participants to compare and understand the costs and benefits of different health coverage options. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act requires that insurers and group health plans provide an SBC for each coverage option offered by the insurer or plan. In the proposed regulation, the Departments set forth a template for the SBC and a uniform glossary of terms (e.g., "deductible" and "co-pay") commonly used to describe health care coverage. The Departments said the new SBC requirements are to become effective on March 23, 2012, although it is likely that implementation might be delayed.