Long-delayed forms to provide coverage details likely to be released today

Aug 18 2011

Part of the health law, these rules will lay out, among other things, a new standard form that will provide consumers who are shopping for health coverage with policy details, such as deductibles and specific costs for certain medical circumstances.

The Wall Street Journal: Health Plan Buyers Get A Look Under The Hood
Consumers shopping for health insurance will soon get a peek at a new standard form — akin to the nutrition label on food products — that will lay out the details of each policy, from deductibles to how much it might cost to have a baby. Federal regulators are expected to unveil the proposed summary form, part of the health care overhaul law, on Wednesday, and the requirement is supposed to take effect next March (Mathews and Adamy, 8/17).

Kaiser Health News: Obama administration officials are expected Wednesday to unveil simple, standardized information forms health insurers and employers will be required to use beginning next year. The forms are intended to describe benefits and costs in the same easy-to-understand terms so that consumers can comparison shop for the best coverage (Jaffe, 8/17).

Politico Pro: HHS, Labor Infighting Delays Coverage Rule
Infighting between HHS and the Department of Labor contributed to a nearly five-month delay in the release of rules implementing health reform requirements about the way health plans must summarize coverage, according to sources close to HHS. The rules are expected to be released Wednesday, almost five months past the March 23 deadline in the statute. An initial delay was caused by the fact that the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, which was developing recommendations and a draft form for the coverage summary, had not completely finished its process in time to issue the rule in March (Feder, 8/16).