On April 28, 2022, CMS released the Final Benefit and Payment Parameters for 2023, along with an accompanying fact sheet. The regulations are primarily intended for health insurers and the marketplace but include important information that also affects large employers and self-insured group health plans. The effective date is July 1, 2022.
These annual parameters specify the uniform standards for health plans subject to the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The guidance also describes related regulatory and reporting issues. Accordingly, the guidance can serve as a useful planning tool for insurers and employers.
Overall, the 2023 regulations cover a range of topics, including standardized plan options requirements for issuers in the marketplaces, marketplace network adequacy standards, special enrollment period verifications, a framework for discriminatory benefit design, and indirect quality improvement activity (QIA) exclusions from medical loss ratio (MLR) calculations.
For the standardized plan options requirement, CMS requires issuers in the marketplaces to offer standardized plan options for every product network type, at every metal level, and throughout every service area where they offer non-standardized options in plan year 2023. For example, if an issuer offers a non-standardized gold HMO plan in a particular service area through a marketplace, the issuer needs to also offer a standardized gold HMO plan set by CMS in the same service area. Further, beginning for plan year 2023, CMS will evaluate plans sold in many of the marketplaces for compliance with quantitative network adequacy standards based on time and distance standards. CMS will use this information to add appointment wait time standards in plan year 2024.
Additionally, the 2023 regulations confirmed that issuers’ expenditures for activities that improve health care quality (a.k.a., quality improvement activity (QIA)) that can be included in the MLR formula and that would improve the MLR ratio must be restricted to only direct QIA expenses, such as salaries of the staff performing QIA functions and not indirect expenses, such as issuers’ IT infrastructure expenditures.
CMS did not finalize the proposed changes that would have amended the ACA guaranteed-availability regulations to explicitly bar discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity across a range of requirements. Those changes will be deferred to future rulemaking on Section 1557 of the ACA.
Employers may find this annual guidance helpful in designing their plan benefit offerings.
2023 Benefit and Payment Parameters Final Rule » 2023 Benefit and Payment Parameters Fact Sheet »
PPI Benefit Solutions does not provide legal or tax advice. Compliance, regulatory and related content is for general informational purposes and is not guaranteed to be accurate or complete. You should consult an attorney or tax professional regarding the application or potential implications of laws, regulations or policies to your specific circumstances.
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