July 15, 2021 - Mercer
The Massachusetts Health Connector has announced the 2022 dollar limits on deductibles and other cost sharing for minimum creditable coverage (MCC), as required by regulations (956 Mass. Code Regs. 5). The Massachusetts individual mandate, in place since 2007, requires state residents to maintain MCC or face a potential state tax penalty. Though employers have no obligation to provide MCC for their Massachusetts employees, many employees use their employment-based health coverage to satisfy the mandate. In addition, health plan reporting requirements compel plan sponsors (or their vendors) to determine whether the coverage they offer meets MCC standards. Deductibles receive annual adjustments tied to federal indexing. The regulations also clarify the MCC criteria for health arrangements that religious organizations provide for their members.
By Jan. 31 after the close of a coverage year, health plans that provide MCC must distribute Form MA 1099-HC to covered individuals who reside in Massachusetts and report this information to the state Department of Revenue (DOR). While the MCC reporting law applies to plan sponsors and state-regulated insurers, most self-funded employers rely on third-party administrators (TPAs) to determine MCC status, distribute the forms and file the DOR report. Insurers subject to Massachusetts regulation must comply with the reporting requirements. However, MCC reporting falls to the employer if its health plan is from an insurer that isn’t subject to the state’s laws and won’t agree to file the reports. Reporting may be more complex for employers that have multiple TPAs for a single plan.
Insurers subject to Massachusetts regulation must determine and disclose MCC status. Plan sponsors whose insurance vendors don’t do this can review plan provisions and self-certify that the plan qualifies as MCC if it meets all the requirements outlined below (see MCC standards). Employers that self-certify don’t need to complete or submit any special form or filing. They only need to distribute Forms 1099-HC and report to the DOR.
A plan that fails to meet the core or alternative MCC standards may submit an MCC Certification Application to the Health Connector. Applications for the 2021 plan year must be submitted by Nov. 1, 2021. Applications for other years won't be accepted for review in 2021. Any application must identify a deviation from MCC standards. If a plan received certification for 2019 or later and hasn’t expanded any deviation from MCC standards, resubmission is not necessary and not welcomed.
The application may include an actuarial attestation showing the coverage has equal or greater value than a Health Connector bronze plan. While not required (unless requested), the attestation may expedite the application process. Actuarial equivalence doesn't guarantee MCC certification approval. Even if the coverage is actuarially equivalent, the Health Connector won't approve a plan that fails to provide the core services required by the MCC standards.
TPAs providing MA 1099-HC reporting services commonly require self-insured plan sponsors to attest that their plans meet MCC standards. Any self-insured employer ・including one with different vendors for the medical plan and carved-out prescription drug or mental health benefits ・has to base its attestation on the combined features of the medical plan and the carved-out benefits. TPAs typically ask employers for this attestation in late summer or early autumn, well before the January reports are due.
To qualify as MCC, a plan must cover four core services: physician services, inpatient acute care, day surgery, and diagnostic procedures and tests. Within these services, the plan must cover a broad range of services that include the following:
MCC may consist of a single plan or a combination that together meet the standards. Coverage for all individuals must include all core services and the broad range of benefits. For example, a plan can’t limit coverage for maternity services to an employee or a spouse, but exclude that coverage for covered dependent children. Indemnity-type plans aren’t permitted.
A plan cannot impose a dollar limit or utilization cap on core services or any single illness or condition, or an overall maximum on prescription drugs. Utilization limits may apply if based on “reasonable medical management techniques” rather than dollar amounts.
A plan’s out-of-pocket maximum (OOPM) applies to deductibles, copayments, coinsurance and similar charges an enrollee must pay for core health benefits. Annual preventive services, as determined under federal law (42 USC § 300gg-13), must be covered without a deductible, even if the plan is grandfathered under the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
MCC rules (956 Mass. Code Regs. 5) index the annual deductible to an annual OOPM adjustment, rounded down to the next $50, under the ACA (42 USC § 18022(d)(1)). The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) annually announces the ACA adjustment for the coming year in the Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters.
For 2021 plan years, Bulletin 05-20 sets the maximum MCC deductibles at $2,700 for individual coverage and $5,400 for family coverage. If the plan has a separate prescription drug deductible, the individual/family amounts for 2021 can’t exceed $330/$660. The overall maximum deductible applies.
In Bulletin 03-21, the Connector announced that the 2022 maximum MCC deductibles are $2,850 for individual coverage and $5,700 for family coverage. If the plan has a separate prescription drug deductible, those amounts for 2022 can’t exceed $350 for individual coverage and $700 for family coverage. The overall maximum deductible applies.
The MCC rules typically set the OOPM to match the federal ACA limits. However, due to a recent change in the methodology for determining the ACA OOPM, the 2022 amounts for MCC and ACA differ. The 2021 ACA OOPM is $8,550 for individual coverage and $17,100 for family coverage under the 2021 Notice of Payment and Parameters and for MCC. For 2022, the Notice of Payment and Parameters for 2022 sets those amounts at $8,700/$17,400. However, the Massachusetts bulletin sets the 2022 MCC OOPM amounts at $9,100 /$18,200 for self/family coverage. It’s unclear if Massachusetts will amend its OOPM for 2022.
The rules include other types of plans that may qualify as MCC without meeting all the monetary standards set out above. As in the past, certain high-deductible health plans (HDHPs) can qualify. Religious organizations providing care for their members can be considered MCC under certain conditions. A list of other state and federal health plans also meet the requirements.
The Connector will allow a plan sponsor or insurer to self-certify an HDHP if it meets one of the following standards:
A health arrangement provided by an established religious organization composed of individuals with sincerely held beliefs may be considered MCC. Beyond any financial statement or disclosure required by law, the organization cannot represent that it has sufficient financing to meet members' anticipated financial or medical needs or has had a successful history of meeting them. The organization also cannot use common insurance terms, such as "health plan," "coverage," "copay," "copayment," "deductible," "premium," and "open enrollment" or refer to itself as "licensed." Additional requirements apply to use of funds, disclosures and reporting to the Connector.
Individual policies sold on or off the health insurance exchange and certain publicly funded state and federal health plans also qualify as MCC, including the following:
Employers may face a $50 penalty per individual for reporting failures and unspecified fines for state tax-filing noncompliance. However, employers don't have to provide MCC, and no direct penalty applies to an employer for not offering MCC. Massachusetts requires residents to maintain coverage that complies with MCC rules.
Resident penalties for failure to maintain MCC vary and apply only to adults whom the Connector deems able to afford health insurance under the state’s affordability rules. The Health Connector annually establishes affordability standards based on a resident’s income relative to the federal poverty level (FPL) and ConnectorCare premiums. Anyone deemed unable to afford health insurance won’t face a penalty. Any penalty won’t exceed 50% of the minimum monthly premium an individual would have paid for insurance through the Health Connector. Individuals may appeal a penalty to claim that hardship prevented them from purchasing health insurance.
The following chart outlines the 2021 penalties for uninsured Massachusetts residents.
Employers with health plans covering employees residing in Massachusetts should take the following steps:
by Catherine Stamm, Principal, Mercer’s Law & Policy Group
Patricia Farrell, Principal, Mercer Health
