On October 23rd, multiple agencies released a coordinated proposed rule to expand the use of Health Reimbursement Accounts (HRAs). The rule would allow employers to fund HRAs to make tax-preferred contributions toward the purchase of individual-market insurance. This change would make it easier for employers to take a defined-contribution approach to their health benefits and to satisfy the Affordable Care Act’s employer mandate for health insurance benefits without procuring group health insurance. The regulation would go into effect for plan years beginning in January 2020. The agencies will accept comments on the proposed rule until December 28th.
On October 26th, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed a rule that would update Medicare Advantage (MA) and Medicare Part D policies, beginning in 2020. The rule would implement telehealth and Dual-Eligible Special Needs Plan (D-SNP) provisions of the Bipartisan Budget Act (BBA) of 2018, make changes to the Star Ratings system, enhance Preclusion List protections, and update Risk Adjustment Data Validation (RADV) audit methodologies. CMS will accept comments on the proposed rule until December 31st.
Summaries of key provisions of the two rules can be found here (HRA and MA). The full text of the HRA rule is available here, and the full text of the MA rule is available here.