Oregon Changes Health Care Benefits and Continuation Coverage Laws: Employment Law Manual, Chart Updated
Author: Tracy Morley, XpertHR Legal Editor
Various amendments to Oregon's health care benefits and health care continuation coverage laws took effect in June, although certain provisions do not apply until the beginning of a future plan year.
Changes to the health care benefits law include:
- Closer alignment to the Affordable Care Act, including extending transitional health plans, which were to end at the end of 2015, into 2016 for employers with 51-100 employees;
- Clarification that hearing aids must be medically necessary to be covered by a group health plan;
- Amendment of covered telemedical health services to specify coverage of health services provided using synchronous two-way interactive video conferencing; and
- Addition of coverage of colonoscopies after positive fecal test results, which allows an insured individual to follow-up with a colonoscopy after being screened with a less-invasive test.
The health care continuation coverage law was amended to remove the requirement that a legally separated or divorced spouse who remarries must also become covered under another group health plan in order to trigger termination of continuation coverage.
Also, Oregon's health care exchange, Cover Oregon, was closed June 30 and moved to the Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services.
In light of these developments, the Oregon Health Care Benefits and Health Care Continuation (COBRA) sections of the Employment Law Manual and the Health Care Continuation Coverage (Mini-COBRA) Laws by State chart have been updated.