The implementation of Obamacare is suffering another setback, after it
was discovered that a rule establishing a maximum limit in the
out-of-pocket expenses people may have to spend on their own health care
will be delayed until 2015.
The health care law stipulates that individuals will not have to spend
more than $6,350 per year on their own, including deductibles and
co-payments, while families would not spend more than $12,700.
But a little noticed rule in the legislation grants a one-year grace
period to some insurers, allowing them to set higher limits or no limits
at all on some costs in 2014, The New York Times reports.
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The clause was established on the premise that insurers and employers
may need more time to streamline the way they administer coverage and
upgrade their computer systems to centrally keep track of individual
out-of-pocket expenditures.
"We knew this was an important issue. We had to balance the interests
of consumers with the concerns of health plan sponsors and carriers,
which told us that their computer systems were not set up to aggregate
all of a person's out-of-pocket costs. They asked for more time to
comply," an unnamed senior administration official told the Times.
The delay is bad news particularly for people with chronic illnesses,
including cancer and disabilities, many whom have tens of thousands of
dollars a year in out-of-pocket expenses for treatment and medications.
The news represents the second significant delay
in the roll-out of the president's signature health care plan. In
July, the administration announced it will not require employers to
provide health insurance for their workers until 2015, prompting a wave a
criticism about the viability of the law and the renewal of calls to
repeal the program.
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