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Established in 1990, Life & Health Underwriters, Inc. (LHUI) provides employee benefit brokerage and consulting services to employers in the state of Washington. We currently assist over 80 employers in the management of their benefit plans. We also represent over 200 individuals in the purchase of individual life, disability, and health insurance. Our professional staff combines over 190-plus years of experience with enthusiasm and professionalism.
Here is some recent news article and/or trend:
Health Care Reform: A Few Important Developments in 2011
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) made extensive changes to the U.S. health care system with respect to the delivery of health care, consumer protections and coverage options. Some provisions are effective now, while others become effective years from now.
Many of PPACA's reforms require agency guidance to be implemented. Since PPACA became law in 2010, the Departments of Labor (DOL), Health and Human Services (HHS) and Treasury (collectively, the Departments) have been regularly issuing guidance to implement PPACA's reforms.
In addition, PPACA is a "hot button" issue that has been the subject of congressional and court action since its enactment. While congressional attempts to entirely repeal PPACA have been unsuccessful, two individual components of the law were repealed through the legislative process. In addition, a number of courts have addressed the constitutionality of PPACA, and reached different conclusions. There are a couple of noteworthy plans design changes as a result of health care reform — coverage of preventive care and eliminating lifetime maximums in plans.
Under PPACA, non-grandfathered health plans must cover preventive health services without imposing cost-sharing requirements for the services. PPACA's preventive care mandate is generally effective for plan years beginning on or after Sept. 23, 2010. In August 2011, HHS issued new preventive care guidelines for women. These new guidelines, which are effective for plan years beginning on or after Aug. 1, 2012, require non-grandfathered health plans to cover women's preventive health without charging a copayment, deductible or coinsurance.
PPACA generally prohibits lifetime or annual limits on the dollar value of essential health benefits, effective for plan years beginning on or after Sept. 23, 2010. Although annual limits are generally prohibited, "restricted annual limits" are permitted for essential health benefits for plan years beginning before Jan. 1, 2014.
Health insurance exchanges (Exchanges) required as part of reform will provide a competitive marketplace where individuals and small businesses will be able to purchase affordable private health insurance coverage, effective Jan. 1, 2014. Rules related to some aspects of the Exchanges have been proposed, but are not yet final.
A number of legal challenges to the health care reform law have been filed in federal court since the law was passed in 2010. The main issue has been whether Congress had the constitutional authority to pass the individual mandate under health care reform. The court rulings, to date, are split. Some courts have upheld the law as constitutional, while others have concluded that a portion of the law, or the entire law, is unconstitutional.
In June 2011, the 6th Circuit upheld the constitutionality of the individual mandate. However, in August 2011, the 11th Circuit ruled that the health care reform law's individual mandate is unconstitutional. In early September 2011, the 4th Circuit dismissed challenges to the health care reform law's constitutionality based on procedural grounds. In November 2011, the District of Columbia Circuit upheld the constitutionality of the individual mandate.
The U.S. Supreme Court has announced that it will review the issue of the law's constitutionality in 2012.
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