HIPAA Excepted Benefits Final Rules Affect ACA Implementation: Employment Law Manual Updated
Author: Gloria Ju
Final rules were released that amend the definition of excepted benefits under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) to include certain types of limited wraparound coverage. The final rules establish pilot programs for coverage that wraps around individual health insurance policies (including basic health plan coverage for low-income individuals established under the Affordable Care Act (ACA)) and multistate health plans.
To qualify as an excepted benefit, the limited wraparound coverage must meet design, cost, antidiscrimination, reporting and other eligibility requirements. Wraparound coverage must start no earlier than January 1, 2016, and no later than December 31, 2018. The pilot programs expire the later of:
- Three years after the date wraparound coverage is first offered; or
- The date on which the last collective bargaining agreement relating to the plan terminates after the date wraparound coverage is first offered.
In light of this development, the Health Information and Privacy (HIPAA) section of the Employment Law Manual has been updated.