The Affordable Care Act will help support and protect consumers and end some of the worst insurance company abuses. For too long, consumers have been forced to fend for themselves in a health care system that did not provide them with the support and assistance they needed and deserved. Today, the Obama Administration is announcing new regulations that will allow consumers to appeal decisions made by their health plans and the availability of resources that will be used to help give consumers more control of their health care decisions. Today’s announcements include:
Next year, an estimated 31 million people in new employer plans and 10 million people in new individual plans will benefit from the new appeals rights announced today. The number of individuals in employer plans who will benefit is expected to rise to 78 million by 2013, for a total potential of 88 million Americans who will be guaranteed the right to appeal decisions made by their health plan.
New Regulations To Help Consumers Appeal Decisions By Their Health Plans
The new rules issued by the Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor, and the Treasury will standardize both an internal process and an external process that patients can use to appeal decisions made by their health plan.
Today, if your health plan tells you it won’t cover a treatment your doctor recommends, or it refuses to pay the bill for your child’s last trip to the emergency room, you may not know where to turn. Most health plans have a process that lets you appeal the decision within the plan through an “internal appeal” – but depending on your State’s laws and your type of coverage, there’s no guarantee that the process will be swift and objective. Moreover, if you lose your internal appeal, you may not be able to ask for an “external appeal” to an independent reviewer.
The rules issued today will end the patchwork of protections that apply to only some plans in some States, and simplify the system for consumers. And they will ensure that all consumers in new health plans have access to internal and external appeals processes that are clearly defined, impartial, and designed to ensure that, when health care is needed and covered, consumers get it.
Internal Appeals
The internal appeals process will guarantee a venue where consumers may present information their health plan might not have been aware of, giving families a straightforward way to clear up misunderstandings. Under the new rules, new health plans beginning on or after September 23, 2010 must have an internal appeals process that:
External Appeals
If a patient’s internal appeal is denied, patients in new plans will have the right to appeal all denied claims to an independent reviewer not employed by their health plan. External appeals have helped consumers get the care they deserve: one study found that – in States that had external appeals – consumers won their external appeal against the insurance company 45% of the time.
While 44 States provide for some form of external appeal, the laws governing these processes vary greatly and fail to cover millions of Americans. The new rules will ensure that consumers with new health coverage in all States have access to a standard external appeals process that meets high standards for full and fair review.
These standards were established by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC). States are encouraged to make changes in their external appeals laws to adopt these standards before July 1, 2011. The NAIC standards call for:
If State laws don’t meet these standards, consumers in those States will be protected by comparable Federal external appeals standards. In addition, people in health plans that are not subject to State law – including new self-insured employer plans – will be protected by the new Federal standards.
New Consumer Assistance Grants
The Affordable Care Act provides consumers with significant new protections including the ability to choose a health plan that best suits their needs, to appeal decisions by plans to deny coverage of needed services, and to select an available primary care provider of their choosing. The new Consumer Assistance Grants program will provide nearly $30 million in new resources to help States and Territories educate consumers about their health coverage options, empower consumers, and ensure access to accurate information. Grants will be made available to support States’ efforts to establish or strengthen consumer assistance programs that provide direct services to consumers with questions or concerns regarding their health insurance.
All States and Territories may apply for these grants, which will help expand consumer assistance efforts on the State level, including:
Eligible applicants include State insurance departments, State attorneys general offices, independent State consumer assistance agencies, or other State agencies. States and Territories may also partner with non-profit organizations that have a track record of working with consumers. Applications are available now by visiting www.Grants.gov and searching for CFDA number 93.519.
What Will This Mean for You?
Consumer Assistance Grants have the potential to benefit millions of Americans. These grants will fund programs that will support consumers both now as we transition to a more competitive, patient-centered health insurance marketplace in 2014 and once that new marketplace is established.
Builds on Other Initiatives to Protect Patients’ Rights
The rules released today build on a series of efforts under the Affordable Care Act to strengthen consumer and patient rights. Other actions include:
HHS will not enforce these rules against issuers of stand-alone retiree-only plans in the private health insurance market.