Consumer Law

Interim Health Care Reform Regulations and Transition

By Brian Wolfman

With big changes in the law, transition is often a big issue. Often, you don't want to just "grandfather" forever all the old products or services already on the market or you haven't achieved real reform. And, besides, sometimes "grandfathering" can provide a large and unfair competitive advantage to the old sellers (because only new market entrants must comply with the new law).

Transition is a major issue in implementing the new health care reform law, the Affordable Care Act. The Act does (or will do) many things to change the U.S. health care system, such as prohibiting exclusions for pre-existing conditions and eliminating lifetime cost limits. But, remember, one of the benefits of the new law was that folks would be able to keep their old insurance. So, perhaps the aim should be to have new rules that allow existing insurance plans to keep many of their existing attributes but require them to incorporate the Act's key reforms either immediately or soon.

Doing this is not easy. In interim final regulations issued jointly by the Departments of Health and Human Services, Treasury, and Labor on June 14, 2010, the Obama Administration has taken its best shot. (Though the rules are "final," they are also "interim," and so the three departments are taking comments due on or before August 16.)  The rules are very complex. For a well-written synopsis, see this advisory issued by the Arnold & Porter law firm.

And, by the way, HHS has established this webpage, which brings together all of the agency's efforts to implement the Affordable Care Act.

Full post as published by CL&P Blog on July 08, 2010 (boomark / email).