FINAL RULE UPDATES THE SBC REQUIREMENT

On June 16, 2015, the Department of Labor (DOL), Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Treasury (Departments) published final regulations on the summary of benefits and coverage (SBC) under the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

These updated regulations clarify when and how a plan or issuer must provide an SBC, they streamline the SBC template requirements and they add elements to the SBC template intended to be useful to consumers. The regulations also make some of the SBC enforcement safe harbors and transition rules permanent, with some changes.

The final regulations apply to group coverage that begins on or after September 1, 2015, and to individual coverage that begins on or after January 1, 2016. The new template, instructions and uniform glossary are expected to be finalized in January 2016.