INDEPENDENCE BLUE CROSS

Taxation/Internal Revenue Code

IRC section 833(b) tax provisions; annual insurer assessments, proposed excise tax on high-value health insurance plans, limitation of tax deduction for health insurer's executive compensation; Small Employer Tax Credits; IRS Guidelines on dependent coverage; Medical Loss Ratio definition to qualify for 833(b) tax deduction

TargetedSENATE · HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES · White House Office · Health & Human Services, Dept of (HHS) · Labor, Dept of (DOL) · Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)

Health Issues

See attached addendum for General Lobbying Issue Area: HCR - Healthcare Successful Insurance Industry Implementation of Health Reforms: good faith compliance standard, reasonable effective dates for compliance with PL 111-148 State Oversight of Premium Increases: S 3078 and HR4757 Health Insurance Rate Authority Act of 2010; federal rate review; HR 4700 Transparency in All Health Care Pricing Act of 2010; existing state regulatory functions; federal exchanges; state exchanges Medical Loss Ratios: Quality improvement definition; Consistent reporting requirements for all insurers; Transition for smaller states and Plans; include benefits for individuals as well as populations Dependent Health Insurance Coverage: IRS Guidelines on dependent coverage; Pre-existing condition for children; guaranteed issue for children under the age of 19; Child Only Insurance Policies Recissions and Routine Administrative Functions; Internal Claims and Appeals/External Review; Open enrollment period; adverse selection implications Affordable Private Health Care: Insurer Fees; Realistic Minimum Benefit Values; Effective Individual Mandate; Healthcare Delivery System Reforms; Small Employer Tax Credits; Adequate Insurer Reserve Levels Grandfathering Rules: Interim final rule of June 14th; Flexibility to modify items that are not specifically prohibited Lifetime and Annual Limits: lifetime and annual dollar limits on "essential health benefits" Health Care Quality; Patient-centered Primary Care/Medical Home; Health Disparities; Wellness; Chronic Care Management; Comparative Effectiveness Research; Improved Delivery of Health Care; Evidence Based Care; Healthcare Delivery System Reforms; Childhood Obesity Health Information Technology Standards; Health Information Privacy; Electronic Health Records; Administrative Simplification; ICD10 Real time claims adjudication; Data Sharing; Data Aggregation Insurance Market Reform; Individual Market Reform; Small Group Market Reform; Small Business Healthcare; Guaranteed Issue; Community Rating; Health Status Rating; Health Savings Accounts/Medical Savings Accounts; Individual Manadate; MEWAs OPM Legislative Proposal on FEHBP Subrogation and Reimbursement