IRS closes ACA minimum value health plan loophole

The Internal Revenue Service, in a surprise move Tuesday, said it will not qualify employer-sponsored health plans that fail to cover inpatient hospitalization as meeting the minimum value health plan standard under the Affordable Care Act.

In a notice issued under the public radar on Election Day, the IRS says it, the Treasury Department and the Department of Health and Human Services believe that plans that fail to provide substantial coverage for inpatient hospitalization services or for physician services (or for both) do not provide minimum value intended by the ACA’s minimum value requirement. The departments will shortly propose regulations to this effect, with the intention of finalizing them in 2015, the notice adds.

Read more via Employee Benefit Adviser.