HealthCare Reform Breakdown CONT.

Continuation of Mike Vogel's article from FloridaTrend.com...

"NEW HEALTHCARE MANDATES

Kid CoverageBefore: No government mandate on how old an employee’s children can be before coverage expires.

Now: If a plan covers employees’ kids, coverage must be offered up to age 26.

Ounce of PreventionBefore: Employers and their insurers settled how much of preventive care — checkups and the like — was covered.

Now: Insurance has to cover 100% of certain preventive care.

Pre-ExistingBefore: People with pre-existing conditions could have treatment of that condition excluded from coverage under certain circumstances.

Now: No exclusions for pre-existing conditions up until age 19 and no exclusions over 19 starting in 2014.

Caps
Before: Companies could cap the maximum benefits they would pay. Typical plans capped employee coverage at $1 million to $5 million lifetime.

Now: Unlimited lifetime maximum for “essential” benefits.

The Bottom LineNew mandates raised rates 1.5% to 4% this year. “It’s obviously a factor,” says Steven Barber, an employee benefits lawyer and partner with Shutts & Bowen in Tampa, but “if nothing had happened, the costs would have gone up anyway.”

Indeed, the law-related increases came atop a 10% to 13% increase attributed to medical care cost rises. Employers responded with maneuvers such as raising deductibles and out-of-pocket maximums. That kept their cost increases to 6% to 9%. .."