The below costs hit our small business insurance rates. What a bunch of CRAP!! The Affordable Care Act (ACA) imposes new taxes and fees which will increase the cost of coverage. Three of the additions, in order of largest to smallest financial impact, are described below. UHA is not aware of any legal prohibition against passing the increased costs on to your plan members; however, this would be a matter for you to discuss with your own professional advisor. 1. Annual Health Insurance Tax1: • Actual amount not yet determined. Beginning in 2014, the ACA levies a federal excise tax on health insurance that will increase the cost of coverage. The amount of the tax to be collected nationwide will be $8 billion in 2014, increased to $14.3 billion in 2018, and thereafter will be indexed annually to the rate of premium growth. This annual, perpetual charge will be divided among qualified U.S. health insurance issuers like UHA based on the carrier’s market share. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is responsible for calculating the specific amount due from each insurer. For the initial 2014 year, the IRS is not required to notify covered insurers of their portion until the end of next August (2014). It has yet to do so. The tax must be paid by September 30, 2014. A national consulting group has estimated that, on average, the tax will increase premiums by up to 2.3% in 2014 and 3.7% by 2023. The purpose of the provision is to help fund federal and state online marketplaces. • Will be included in your premium rate. The Congressional Budget Office has said that the tax will be “largely passed through to consumers in the form of higher premiums.” Since the exact amount attributable to UHA remains unknown, the tax will be included in your premium rate for 2014, rather than be listed as a separate line item expense. (continued on reverse) 1 Interested in more detail? Search “9010” in ACA statute at gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/PLAW- 111publ148/pdf/PLAW-111publ148.pdf and review proposed “Health Insurance Providers Fee” IRS rule at https://federalregister.gov/articles/2013/03/04/2013-04836/health-insurance-providers-fee. EMP_CON-0064-091313 URAC ACCREDITED HEALTH UTILIZATION MANAGEMENT Topa Financial Center Bishop Street Tower 700 Bishop Street, Suite 300 Honolulu, Hawaii 96813-4100 T 808.532.4000 800.458.4600 uhahealth F 866.572.4393 2. Transitional Reinsurance Program Assessment Fee2: • $5.25 per member per month in 2014. The temporary Reinsurance Program requires health insurance issuers to pay an annual per enrollee amount. The assessment for 2014 is $63 ($5.25 per month) per member, which encompasses not only employees, but also spouses and dependents. UHA must report the number of covered lives for the first nine months of 2014 to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) by November 15, 2014. HHS will issue the amount payable by December 15, 2014, and payment is due within 30 days thereafter. The amounts estimated to be collected nationally are $12 billion in 2014, $8 billion in 2015, and $5 billion in 2016, at which time the Program is scheduled to expire. The Program is designed to stabilize individual market premiums and subsidize insurers that disproportionately attract individuals at risk for high medical costs (particularly those projected to begin entering the individual market over the next three years). • Will be displayed and charged separately on your monthly invoice. UHA will be filing and paying the fee on behalf of your fully insured account. Fees will be shown separately on your monthly invoice. 3. Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (Comparative Effectiveness) Fee3: • $2 per member for 2014. Beginning in 2012, issuers of group health insurance policies like UHA became liable for a new annual fee to fund the nonprofit Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI). The PCORI4 was authorized by Congress to provide evidence-based research that compares treatment effectiveness (that is, not so much to study whether a particular treatment works, but rather to analyze how an intervention stacks up against alternatives). During the first 2012 year, the fee amounted to $1 times the average number of covered lives under a health insurance policy for that policy year. During the second year, the fee (due July 31, 2014) will be $2 per covered life, per year. The fee will thereafter be indexed to national health expenditures until it is phased out in 2019. The IRS is treating this fee as an excise tax. It is projected to generate about $500 million per year. • UHA Administrative Expense. For UHA-insured group customers like you, UHA completes the relevant excise tax form and submits it with the required payment. UHA will be absorbing this fee as an administrative expense at no cost to you.
Posted on: Sat, 25 Jan 2014 22:15:48 +0000