The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has granted Affordable Care Act (ACA) waivers to 500 more entities, most of which are offering so-called mini-med plans with limited health care coverage, to tide them over until the state-run health insurance exchanges kick in starting in 2014.
The 500 new waivers are in addition to 222 earlier waivers, bringing the total number of individuals affected to 2.1 million.
"We are committed to making the waiver process transparent to the public and to make sure workers with mini-med plans are informed about the limited nature of their coverage," Steve Larsen, director of oversght in HHS's Office of Consumer Information and Insurance, said in a statement.
Companies were required to apply for waivers prior to the start of their plan years, typically Jan. 1. The department said that only a few waiver requests were denied but gave no specifics.
Employers, you need to keep your workforces up to date on health care reform and its provisions and obligations. You can do this by acquiring and posting Personnel Concepts' Health Care Reform Employee Information Poster.