Many Nebraskans still have questions about Obamacare and how it affects their family or small business. In order to answer and reassure Nebraskans about open enrollment on the Marketplace, the Department of Insurance is scheduling meetings across the state to update consumers on changes that are occurring with law and to answer any questions they may have.
On March 11, 2011, the Nebraska Department of Insurance issued a Notice as to whether an insurer can collect fees on behalf of an insurance consultant from a new insured if the insurance business is placed by an insurance consultant. The Notice addressed the issue whether or not the insurer could hold the fees for eventual disbursement to the insurance consultant.
Starting January 1, 2016, the Affordable Care Act amends the size of the small group health insurance market from 2-50 to 1-100. However, the Obama Administration has indicated that those fully insured groups that have 51-100 insureds may be allowed to keep their policies and remain in the large group market via a transitional policy akin to the transitional policies that were allowed in the small group market. The Department previously discussed the small group transitional policies in a notice, “Transitional Policies Revised,” issued April 30, 2014.
The Nebraska Department of Insurance encourages CoOportunity Health policyholders who have not yet replaced their health insurance coverage to act immediately in securing new coverage. February 15, 2015 is the last day for open enrollment and, as such, time is of the essence. Enrolling into a new plan may be inconvenient and, in some cases, a financial burden because some policyholders may have already had medical bills applied to their annual deductible. However, there are compelling reasons to act before the end of the February 15 open enrollment end date.
Agency licenses will expire April 30, 2015.
All agency renewals are available online at www.nipr.com.
Agencies may also be renewed by returning the following to the Department no later than March 15, 2015:
To: All Interested Parties
Recently enacted Neb. Rev. Stat. § 44-3805(3) (2010) and § 44-7,105 (2012) prevent prepaid dental service plans, insurance policies, self-funded employee benefit plans, and prepaid limited health organization plans from dictating the price of dental services that they do not cover. Sections 44-3805 and 44- 7,105 do not provide a definition of the term “covered service.” Insurance and dental professionals implementing § 44-3805 and § 44-7,105 have discovered that “covered service” is subject to two interpretations.
The Nebraska Department of Insurance will be hosting informational sessions on the Affordable Care Act across the state. “We want to continue our mission of informing people about the Affordable Care Act,” said Director of Insurance, Bruce Ramge. “These free sessions will present the public factual information about requirements they face with the law, as well as discuss potential rate adjustments they may experience as open enrollment starts in November.”
