Iowa’s new legislation will allow “health benefits plans” to be sold for coverage in 2019. The health benefits contracts will not offer the ten essential areas of coverage mandated by the Affordable Care Act. Mental health, maternity care, and treatments for addiction are examples of coverage that can be dropped and may result in lower costs.
It’s important to remember the new benefits plans are not insurance. Reading the offered plan will be important to understand what is covered and your rights if you disagree with decisions to not pay a claim. The Iowa Insurance Division will not have authority over the plans and has no responsibility to review issues that arise if benefits are denied. The plans fall under ERISA laws administered by the Department of Labor.
While consumers will be able to consider selection of coverage with fewer benefits, they also will be considering a product that lacks some of the traditional back-up security used by insurance. Health insurance providers participate in a risk pool, where money can be borrowed if there are extremely high claims in any one year. The new benefits plans won’t have this protection, a reason why they are apt to be highly selective when offering coverage to clients.
Extension’s health insurance education programs encourage individuals to compare coverage to needs and to read and understand their policies. Those consumer skills will be equally beneficial when comparing health insurance policies to health benefits plans.
Joyce
