Colorado Fertility Mandate Will Not Go Into Effect On January 1, 2022 [Above The Law] – InsuranceNewsNet

InsuranceNewsNet — Your Industry. One Source.™

Sign in
  • Subscribe
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Contact
Home Now reading Newswires
Topics
    • Life Insurance
    • Annuity News
    • Health/Employee Benefits
    • Property and Casualty
    • Advisor News
    • Washington Wire
    • Regulation News
    • Sponsored Content
    • Webinars
    • Monthly Focus
  • INN Exclusives
  • NewsWires
  • Magazine
  • Free Newsletters
Sign in or register to be an INNsider.
  • INN Exclusives
  • NewsWires
  • Magazine
  • Free Newsletters
  • Insider
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Editorial Staff
  • Contact
  • Newsletters

Get Social

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
Newswires
Newswires RSS Get our newsletter
Order Prints
November 3, 2021 Newswires No comments
Share
Share
Tweet
Email

Colorado Fertility Mandate Will Not Go Into Effect On January 1, 2022 [Above The Law]

Above The Law

Well, this is disappointing news for all those Coloradans who have been holding off on accessing or moving forward with medical assistance for infertility, hoping it was just a matter of months before their insurance would help cover the high cost of fertility treatment. The Colorado Building Families Act — the state fertility access insurance mandate that had been slated to go into effect on January 1, 2022 — will instead be stalled. When it will go into effect, if at all, is yet to be determined.

The Colorado Building Families Act

Gov. Jared Polis signed the Colorado Building Families Act (the Act) into law on April 1, 2020. Perhaps a prophetic date. The Act, which was one of the last bills signed before the legislature temporarily shut down for COVID-19, intended to provide greater access to fertility diagnosis, treatment, and preservation for Coloradans by mandating insurance coverage for all insurance plans subject to Colorado law. That was about one-third of the insurance plans covering Coloradans. The bill provided coverage for modern fertility techniques, including at least three rounds of in vitro fertilization (IVF), if recommended by a covered member’s physician. Despite the bill passing over a year and a half ago, the delayed effective date of January 1, 2022, intended to give time for the Colorado Department of Insurance to implement regulations and the insurance companies time to comply.

But it was not to be.

The Problematic Language

Right before the final version of the bill passed, the Governor’s office included language to prevent the state from being responsible for defrayal costs. Essentially, the Governor’s office was concerned about the state being financially responsible for any increase in premiums caused by a new insurance mandate under state law — as could be required by the Affordable Care Act (ACA). This new language required that Colorado’s Division of Insurance make a determination as to whether defrayal could apply, and ask the Federal Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to confirm if that determination was correct. The Colorado Department of Insurance would then implement the Act only if: “The Division receives confirmation from [HHS] that that coverage specified … does not constitute an additional benefit that requires defrayal by the state” or HHS fails to respond within 360 days.

Well, way back in the year 2020, the Trump administration’s HHS determined that there was a possibility of defrayal, specifically in the individual and small group markets. So that was a bummer for the half-a-million-plus Coloradans that fell into that category. But it was still believed that the Act would go into effect for the large group market on the planned January 1, 2022, date. The large group market includes employers with 100 or more employees.

Not so fast.

In the past few weeks, it was determined that the language of the Act did not support implementation for the large group market only — as it didn’t carve out the different markets. Basically, the individual and small group markets couldn’t be severed from the rest of the bill, so any defrayal determination prevents implementation of the Act as a whole. As a result, the Act will not go into effect at all on January 1, 2022.

There Is Still Hope

One of the prime sponsors for the Act, Rep. Kerry Tipper, shared with attendees at a Colorado Fertility Advocates webinar on October 28, 2021, that she plans to introduce a fix-it bill at the beginning of the 2022 legislative session to clearly carve out the large group market from the defrayal disqualification and allow the Act to go into effect at least for that market. The Governor’s office and the Division of Insurance are supportive of this proposed fix. Back in 2020, the bipartisan majority of the legislature was clearly in favor of passing the Act and increased access to fertility care for Coloradans, so the hope is that the fix-it bill should be a nonissue. Best-case scenario, if the bill passes quickly, it could affect those plans with a July 1 initiation/renewal date, and start July 1, 2022. For those plans on the calendar-year renewal, it could go into effect as early as January 1, 2023.

In the meantime, national organizations like RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association are doing what they can. RESOLVE’s Chief Engagement Officer Betsy Campbell shared on the Colorado Fertility Advocates webinar that RESOLVE would be continuing conversations with HHS under the Biden administration. RESOLVE disagrees with the Trump administration’s interpretation on defrayal, believing that none of the markets in Colorado — individual or small group market, in addition to the large market — should be subject to the ACA defrayal provision.

In the meantime, Campbell reminded listeners that the majority of Coloradans are under insurance plans not subject to the Act or even to Colorado insurance regulation generally. So an alternative avenue for coverage is for employees themselves to mobilize and impress upon individual employers the importance and need for fertility coverage in their insurance plans. (As opposed to a top-down state mandate.) RESOLVE provides critical resources and support for those employees who want to press their case with their current employer. Check them out, if you haven’t already!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ellen Trachman is the Managing Attorney ofTrachman Law Center, LLC, a Denver-based law firm specializing in assisted reproductive technology law, and co-host of the podcastI Want To Put A Baby In You. You can reach her at[email protected].

Older

Michigan Motorists To Receive Insurance Refunds, Details To Be Determined

Newer

Consumer Watchdog: Insurance Commissioner Cannot Force State Farm to Pay Refunds for Overcharges, San Diego Court Says

Advisor News

  • Banks announce dividend plansTruist, Wells Fargo, Bank of America announce dividend hike plans
  • Jerry Shenk: Social Security demagoguery
  • Rick Kahler: My state flunked financial literacy. How about yours?
  • Inflation affects each family differently
  • With retirement balances down, a Roth conversion may make sense
More Advisor News

Annuity News

  • Sammons names Kevin Mechtley to newly created product innovation role
  • Athene completes pension group annuity deal with Lockheed Martin
  • Integrity expands annuity, life insurance distribution with Annuity Agents Alliance
  • Nationwide increases roll-up rate, payout percentage on L.inc+ suite
  • Midland Retirement Distributors launches Summit Focus 3
More Annuity News

Health/Employee Benefits News

  • How will Roe v. Wade reversal impact employee health plans?
  • Jury still out on new insurance plan for Idaho schools
  • Citadel reaches $7.85M settlement over switching patients to boost Medicare payments
  • Idaho gave schools millions to buy state health insurance, but many still can’t
  • Colorado one step closer to a state-designed health insurance plan
More Health/Employee Benefits News

Life Insurance

  • Wisconsin seeks policyholders of insolvent Time Insurance Co. products
  • 4 things to know about the return of premium life insurance
  • Murdaugh, Curtis Smith hit with new SC grand jury indictments
  • Foresters Financial boosts UL crediting rate to 4.75%
  • Protective Life releases 2021 sustainability report
More Life Insurance

- Presented By -

How to Write For InsuranceNewsNet

Find out how you can submit content for publishing on our website.
View Guidelines

FEATURED OFFERS

Get Linked INN to your industry Connect with INN on LinkedIn to be first on all the news and insights that matter to your industry.

Press ReleasesAll press releases

  • iPipeline® Provides Advisors Excel with Unified Path Toward Accessing Core Data Analytics in Financial Services
  • iPipeline® Adds Speed of Underwriting to Quote Engine with Ethos to Deliver Insurance to Agents in Minutes
  • National Life Will Host Annual Investor Call
  • RFP #T01622
  • OneAmerica Commits $1 Million Toward Financial Literacy
Add your Press Release >

Topics

  • Life Insurance
  • Annuity News
  • Health/Employee Benefits
  • Property and Casualty
  • Advisor News
  • Washington Wire
  • Regulation News
  • Sponsored Content
  • Webinars
  • Monthly Focus

Top Sections

  • Life Insurance
  • Annuity News
  • Health/Employee Benefits News
  • Property and Casualty News
  • AdvisorNews
  • Washington Wire
  • Insurance Webinars

Our Company

  • About
  • Editorial Staff
  • Magazine
  • Write for INN
  • Advertise
  • Contact

Sign up for our FREE e-Newsletter!

Get breaking news, exclusive stories, and money- making insights straight into your inbox.

select Newsletter Options
Facebook Linkedin Twitter
© 2022 InsuranceNewsNet.com, Inc. All rights reserved.
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • AdvisorNews

Sign in with your INNsider Account

Not registered? Become an INNsider.