Dive Summary:
- On Wednesday, the Obama administration suggested that student health plans that are self-funded by colleges instead of being run by insurance companies meet the Affordable Care Act's "minimum essential coverage" requirements.
- The Department of Health and Human Services proposal came as a surprise even though it only affects around 30 institutions, but consumer advocates are concerned that it may encourage more institutions, as well as their states, to self-fund their plans in an attempt to avoid requirements.
- The institutions with self-funded plans mostly includes major private and public research universities--like most of the Ivy Leagues and the University of California system--and they do so because self-funded plans are less costly due to the lack of an insurance company middleman, and they can be better tailored to fit specific needs.
From the article:
WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration on Wednesday proposed that student health plans self-funded by colleges (rather than operated by insurance companies) qualify as "minimum essential coverage" under the federal health care law's requirement that individual Americans must participate in a qualified health plan. The proposed regulation essentially exempts such plans from the requirements that the Affordable Care Act imposes on other student health plans. ...