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December 28, 2010 at 07:00 PM
Federal agencies are asking for comments on how health insurers and group health plans can use the “value-based insurance design” (VBID) concept to improve coverage of recommended preventive services.
Officials at the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), and the Office of Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight (OCIIO) have posted VBID questions today in the Federal Register.
Advocates of the VBID approach to health plan design want to use information and incentives to get consumers to choose high-value providers and treatments, rather than trying to save money by discouraging consumers from getting any care, or simply encouraging them to choose the cheapest providers and treatments.
Earlier this year, IRS, EBSA and OCIIO officials released interim final regulations implementing provisions of the Affordable Care Act – the legislative package that includes the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) – that require non-grandfathered insuers and health plans to cover specified in-network preventive care screenings and procedures without imposing deductibles or co-payments.
The agencies received about 25 VBID comment letters, with some commenters asking the agencies to protect use of the VBID approach and others suggesting it might reduce some patients’ access to services.
