Hewitt Experts Available to Discuss Impact of Newly Passed Health Care Reform Bill on Employers, Individuals and Insurance Companies

LINCOLNSHIRE, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--On March 21, 2010, Congress passed a comprehensive health reform bill that represents the largest single change in health care policy since the enactment of Medicare in 1965.

Health care reform experts from Hewitt Associates (NYSE: HEW), a global human resources consulting and outsourcing company, are available to provide an independent analysis of the bill and its implications on employers, individuals and insurance companies.

Specifically, Hewitt experts can address:

Short-Term Impact (2010-2013)

• Changes in the tax treatment of Medicare retiree drug subsidies (RDS), which may impact companies’ balance sheets in the calendar quarter in which the bill is signed into law by the President.
• The Medicare Part D coverage gap (known as the doughnut hole) will be phased out by 2020, beginning in 2011 and with a $250 rebate to Medicare beneficiaries in 2010.
• Adult children up to age 26 will be eligible for health care coverage under their parents’ health care plans—if they are not eligible for other employer-provided health coverage—for plan years beginning six months or later after the enactment of the law.
• Lifetime limits on health coverage and restrictive annual limits will be prohibited.
• Insurance companies will be prohibited from turning away children under age 19 with preexisting health conditions.
• Annual employee contributions to health care flexible spending accounts (FSAs) will be limited to $2,500 in 2013, indexed annually to general inflation.
• A temporary federal reinsurance program for health benefits provided to pre-65 retirees will be available.
• Single taxpayers with adjusted gross income (AGI) of $200,000 or more and joint filers with AGI of $250,000 or more will pay additional Medicare taxes.
• Medicare Advantage payments will be restructured and reduced and include bonus payments for high quality ratings.
• Additional fees and taxes will be assessed on health insurance companies, pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers.

Long-term Impact (2014-Beyond)

• States will set up health insurance exchanges for individuals and small employers to buy health care insurance.
• Employers not offering health insurance coverage will be required to pay $2,000 per full-time employee for all full-time employees if at least one employee enrolls in a health plan through the health insurance exchange and receives a federal subsidy.
• Employers offering “unaffordable” coverage will be assessed $3,000 for each full-time employee who enrolls in the exchange and receives a subsidy.
• An excise tax will be imposed on high-cost health plans above a certain threshold, starting in 2018.
• Annual benefit limits will generally be prohibited.
• Waiting periods longer than 90 days for individuals to be eligible for coverage will be prohibited.
• Insurance companies and employers will be prohibited from turning away individuals with preexisting health conditions.

Visit www.hewitt.com/healthcarereform for Hewitt’s detailed report on the new health care reform legislation.

To schedule an interview with a Hewitt spokesperson, please contact:

MacKenzie Lucas, [phone], [e-mail]

Maurissa Kanter, [phone], [e-mail]