{ "id": "R43314", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "number": "R43314", "active": false, "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "versions": [ { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 425778, "date": "2013-11-19", "retrieved": "2016-04-06T23:13:46.548292", "title": "Cancellation of Nongroup Health Insurance Policies", "summary": "Congress has expressed interest in health insurance cancellations, in light of media reports stating that individuals have received cancellation letters. While cancellations are not a new industry practice, additional attention has focused on the more recent cancellations given that many of the insurance market reforms included in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA, P.L. 111-148, as amended) will become effective beginning in 2014. These cancellations and proposals to address them, including the Administration\u2019s recently announced transitional policy, have been discussed in recent hearings and are the subject of legislative proposals.\nThis report provides background information about health insurance cancellations, non-renewals and rescissions, including applicable federal rules under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) and ACA. Given that the concern about insurance cancellations has largely focused on the nongroup market, this report discusses federal requirements and implementation issues that apply to nongroup coverage. One issue that is not addressed in this report is the Administration\u2019s authority to provide transitional relief (described below); the authority issue is addressed in the CRS Legal Sidebar, Obama Administration\u2019s \u201cFix\u201d for Insurance Cancellations: A Legal Overview. \nThe nongroup market is often referred to as a \u201cresidual\u201d market, because the primary function of this market is to make insurance available to persons who cannot obtain employer-sponsored insurance (ESI) and do not qualify for publicly subsidized programs. Consequently, the covered population for this market is relatively small. In 2012, approximately 10.8 million individuals had coverage through the nongroup market (3.4% of the total U.S. population).", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/R43314", "sha1": "0066c3481496f2399e56edf4edd4892ad247138e", "filename": "files/20131119_R43314_0066c3481496f2399e56edf4edd4892ad247138e.html", "images": null }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R43314", "sha1": "3f4ef8f6d165e21b1cee299d33c55f04d21ce1f3", "filename": "files/20131119_R43314_3f4ef8f6d165e21b1cee299d33c55f04d21ce1f3.pdf", "images": null } ], "topics": [] } ], "topics": [ "American Law", "Health Policy" ] }