Medicare Compliance & Reimbursement

Definition of "grandfathered" health plans still very vague. Depending on how the Obama administration interprets the term "grandfathered," millions of Americans could lose some important benefits of the new health overhaul law. So say Phil Galewitz and Mary Agnes Carey in their post on www.kaiserhealthnews.org. "Grandfathered" health plans is the legal term for existing health plans which would be exempt from several consumer protections. One of these exemptions requires that beginning as early as September, health plans are prohibited from charging co-payments and other cost-sharing for certain preventive health services such as immunizations and cancer screenings, the post indicates. The issue, say Galewitz and Carey, has sparked a debate on the very definition of "grandfather" with some consumer and employer groups already at loggerheads. According to consumer groups, if the definition is too lenient, many Americans will be deprived of the full benefit of the law. But business groups [...]