The Union Labor Life Insurance Company (ULL), a wholly owned subsidiary of ULLICO, has eliminated lifetime stop loss insurance limits to meet the requirements of Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. One significant change brought about by the recent legislation is the elimination of maximum limits on health insurance coverage, initially for one's lifetime.
According to ULL, the annual limits will be lifted beginning in January 2014. Until then, plans are allowed to set annual maximums for essential benefits. The definition of essential benefits and minimum level of funding are to be established by Secretary of Health & Human Services in June 2010.
The company will offer unlimited lifetime maximum coverage and annual maximums up to $10m/person for each policy year for stop loss policies on self-funded plans.
In addition, the pricing will be based on level of annual maximum selected by policyholder. The company will also offer an option of unlimited annual maximum coverage for policyholders who desire to move to that level prior to 2014.
The company said that any subsidy paid to a plan by the Federal Government, under early retiree reinsurance program, will remain with the plan and not be used to offset any payment from ULL.
Larry Paradise, VP of sales at ULL, said: As we continue to learn more about the new regulations and their impact on our clients, we will be communicating with them. I am excited about these enhancements to our Stop Loss products and expect more in the future. It is going to be a busy second half of 2010.