ACHA’s Role in Health Care Reform

As policymakers moved forward crafting legislation for health care reform, ACHA remained committed to do its best to ensure that:

• its members were informed
• the context of college health and the campus community were considered and addressed in policy components of reform legislation
• any resulting legislation preserved and enhanced the funding and operation of college health services

For college health, ACHA focused on:

• supporting universal coverage
• promoting comprehensive coverage as indicated in its guidelines document
• urging simplified access to reimbursement mechanisms
• seeking inclusion and support for the implementation of health information technology (HIT) systems and the electronic health record (EHR)
• protecting/preserving patient privacy
• including college health in “school-based” and “community-based” policy initiatives or programs
• supporting comparative effectiveness research; but to the extent that it does not become the sole determinant of allowable/reimbursable care
• leveraging and supporting college health’s strengths:
  • integrated and multidisciplinary care
  • disease prevention and health promotion
  • the community public health model

ACHA engaged a legislative consulting firm (McKenna, Long, and Aldridge, LLP) to help ACHA monitor developments and convey ACHA’s perspectives as the legislative process unfolded. ACHA crafted several position papers, conveying policy concerns of college health. In the end, ACHA succeeded in getting language into the final legislation that established the intent to allow continuation of comprehensive college student health insurance plans. Title I, Subtitle G, Section 1560(c) of H.R. 3590 stated that nothing in the Act should be construed to prohibit institutions of higher education from offering a student health insurance plan. This language was a helpful recognition of the important role that institutions of higher education play in providing student insurance and signaled the intent to preserve college student health insurance plans. However, because of language elsewhere in the legislation, it was not crystal clear that college student insurance plans could continue to be rated as group-like plans.

In the months ahead, ACHA worked with its colleagues in the higher education community and the Administration to obtain further clarification in regard to the rules that would apply to student health plans as the new health reform law is implemented. In partnership with other higher education associations, ACHA achieved unprecedented access to very high level government officials. Subsequently proposed federal regulations were announced on February 9, 2011 (officially published in the Federal Register on February 11, 2011) that would implement the legislation’s provisions as they relate to college student health insurance coverage. ACHA continues to provide members with updates on the federal rulemaking process and the opportunity to provide comment/input as federal regulations are being finalized.

Keep abreast of updates on health care reform and use the resources provided to further your knowledge and understanding of the evolving health care reform and its impact on the student health insurance plan marketplace.

 

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