On April 23, 2013, an updated template was issued by the Department of Labor (“DOL”), Health and Human Services (the “HHS”) and the Treasury, for the summary of benefits coverage (“SBC”) relating to coverage for plan years that begin on or after January 1, 2014 and before January 1, 2015. The new SBC template provides information as to whether the group health plan provides minimum essential coverage and whether the group health plan meets the minimum value requirements. Both minimum essential coverage and minimum value requirements are part of the employer shared responsibility provisions (known as the “pay or play” requirements) of the Affordable Care Act. At the same time, new FAQs were published addressing the updated template.
For a copy of the updated template, visit: http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/pdf/correctedsbctemplate2.pdf or http://cciio.cms.gov/resources/other/index.html#sbcug. Word versions are also available.
To review the new related FAQs, visit: http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/faqs/faq-aca14.html or http://cciio.cms.gov/resources/factsheets/aca_implementation_faqs14.html.