Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation Alert: Health Connector Issues Four Final Rules Implementing Key Features of the Massachusetts Health Care Reform Act
6/21/2007
At its June 5, 2007 meeting, the Massachusetts Health Insurance Connector Authority (the "Connector") issued four final regulations implementing the following aspects of the Massachusetts Health Care Reform Act:
1. "Employer Sponsored Health Insurance Access" (956 CMR 4.00), finalizing the Act's "cafeteria plan" requirement;
2. "Minimum Creditable Coverage" (956 CMR 5.00), establishing standards for what constitutes "minimum creditable coverage" for purposes of satisfying the individual mandate and avoiding the imposition of a tax penalty;
3. "Determining Affordability for the Individual Mandate" (956 CMR 6.00), prescribing standards under which health insurance is determined to be not affordable for purposes of exemptions from the Act's individual heath insurance mandate; and
4. "Eligibility and Hearing Process for Commonwealth Care" (956 CMR 3.00), setting the basic rules for Connector access for the purpose of purchasing Connector-subsidized health insurance coverage.
This Alert summarizes these four final Connector regulations. For a comprehensive treatment of the Act's impact on employers and individuals, click here for a copy of our firm's publication entitled, An Employers' Guide to the 2006 Massachusetts Health Care Reform Act.
