Healthcare law exemption list

Companies and Organizations are getting exemptions because they can't afford to provide insurance at the new minimum $750,000 level. At this point, they have the option to drop their employee plans entirely, so they can either get exempted from the requirement or drop their plans. This sort of flies in the face of the argument that the law won't cause rates to increase.

The ACA requires insurers to phase out the use of annual dollar limits on benefits. In 2011, most plans can impose an annual limit of no less than $750,000. However, in passing ACA, Congress understood that, in the interim, many employers simply could not do away with those limits so quickly without suffering huge premium increases.

And so ACA allows for one-year temporary waivers from the new rules that restrict the size of annual limits to some group health plans and health insurance issuers.

We're in a transition phase, and so there's a transition.

Why is this a problem?

Oh yeah, I know why it's a problem. It's because its part of what President Obama said he'd accomplish when he crushed Sen. McCain. That means it's bad.

Perhaps you can explain how setting $750,000 minimum benefits in 2011 and unlimited 'annual dollar' benefits in future years results in 'huge premium increases' in 2011, but not in 2012 and beyond.

The bama said that if you have coverage you will not lose it. He did not say if you have insurance you can keep it only if I give you a break.

Before the Affordable Care Act, many health plans set an annual limit—a dollar limit on their yearly spending for your covered benefits. Many plans also set a lifetime limit—a dollar limit on what they would spend for your covered benefits during the entire time you were enrolled in that plan. You were required to pay the cost of all care exceeding those limits.

* Under the new law, lifetime limits on most benefits are prohibited in any health plan or insurance policy issued or renewed on or after September 23, 2010.

* The new law restricts and phases out the annual dollar limits that all job-related plans, and those individual health insurance plans issued after March 23, 2010, can put on most covered health benefits. Specifically, the law says that none of these plans can set an annual dollar limit lower than:

o $750,000—for a plan year or policy year starting on or after September 23, 2010 but before September 23, 2011.

o $1.25 million—for a plan year or policy year starting on or after September 23, 2011 but before September 23, 2012.

o $2 million—for a plan year or policy year starting on or after September 23, 2012 but before January 1, 2014.


* No annual dollar limits are allowed on most covered benefits beginning on January 1, 2014.

. . .

Some plans may be eligible for a waiver from the rules concerning annual dollar limits, if complying with the limit would mean a significant decrease in your benefits coverage or a significant increase in your premiums.

U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services

Right now, we're in a three-year transition phase, one where we can reasonably expect some inconsistencies while various elements of the new law come into sync. Those of us with experience in the private sector know these times well. Part of the process, expect some bumps. But stay focused on the forest.

So if 700 plus organizations can't handle the $750k how will they be able to handle unlimited caps?

That's part of their job during the phase-in.

Congress is allowing some of the plans additional time to prepare, if they can demonstrate that they have legitimate reasons for being unable to do so now.

Oh, and big ups to me for giving a direct, respectful answer to someone who jeers our president as "the bama".

If the bama's pet unions get an exemption this year what is to prevent them from getting them next year?

hoops2, you write like an taunting troll. I don't put people on ignore, so it'll be my job to try to remember not to take you seriously.

But thanks for reminding everyone once again of the true nature of many of our president's detractors.

Probably my least favorite part of this new law is that even its sneering detractors will benefit from the positive changes it'll bring.

You are already seeing the crumbling of the conservative healthcare rheotric just like on every apocolyptic prediciton they've made since Obama took office.

Note how the conversation is no longer about death panels, insurance for illegal aliens, government beaurocrats between you and your doctor, or socialized medicine. Those lies have been exposed for what they are - so the people who concocted those lies and conspiracies simply concoct new ones .... and the fact that they have already been outed as liars doesn't stop their flock from citing the new BS lies they flatulate.

So now we get the evil "exemption list" whose purpose is to give kickbacks to Obama's unions while sticking it to Republican allies in the free market. Look at the track record of GOP predicitions over the last 2 years ... make that 10 years... and see how much water it should hold.

We dont need to speculate much longer about the price of the new health law - it will be available soon enough. But dont dare bring up the true cost of the healthcare system the conservatives want to go back to.... because thats out of bounds... and the fact that it is out of bounds should tell you alot about the level of sincerity they bring to this debate.