90 FR 82 pgs. 17979-17980 - Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request; Affordable Care Act Grandfathered Health Plan Disclosure, Recordkeeping Requirement, and Change in Carrier Disclosure
Type: NOTICEVolume: 90Number: 82Pages: 17979 - 17980
Pages: 17979, 17980FR document: [FR Doc. 2025-07393 Filed 4-29-25; 8:45 am]
Agency: Labor Department
Official PDF Version: PDF Version
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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request; Affordable Care Act Grandfathered Health Plan Disclosure, Recordkeeping Requirement, and Change in Carrier Disclosure
ACTION:
Notice of availability; request for comments.
SUMMARY:
The Department of Labor (DOL) is submitting this Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)-sponsored information collection request (ICR) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA). Public comments on the ICR are invited.
DATES:
The OMB will consider all written comments that the agency receives on or before May 30, 2025.
ADDRESSES:
[top] Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of this notice to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Find this particular information collection by selecting "Currently under 30-day Review-Open
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Michael Howell by telephone at 202-693-6782, or by email at DOL_PRA_PUBLIC@dol.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Public Law 111-148, (the Affordable Care Act or the Act) was enacted on March 23, 2010. Section 1251 of the Act provides that certain plans and health insurance coverage in existence as of March 23, 2010, known as grandfathered health plans, are not required to comply with certain statutory provisions in the Act. On November 18, 2015, the Departments issued final regulations the contain the information collections (80 FR 72191).
To maintain its status as a grandfathered health plan, plans must maintain records documenting the terms of the plan in effect on March 23, 2010, and any other documents that are necessary to verify, explain, or clarify status as a grandfathered health plan. The plan must make such records available for examination upon request by participants, beneficiaries, individual policy subscribers, or a State or Federal agency official.
In addition, grandfathered health plans must include a statement in plan materials provided to participants or beneficiaries describing the benefits provided under the plan or health insurance coverage, that the plan or coverage believes it is a grandfathered health plan within the meaning of section 1251 of the Affordable Care Act, that being a grandfathered health plan means that the plan does not include certain consumer protections of the Affordable Care Act, providing contact information for participants to direct questions regarding which protections apply and which protections do not apply to a grandfathered health plan, and what might cause a plan to change from grandfathered health plan status and to file complaints. However, grandfathered health plans are not required to provide the disclosure statement every time they send out a communication, such as an explanation of benefits, to a participant or beneficiary. Instead, grandfathered health plans will comply with this disclosure requirement if they include the model disclosure language provided in the Departments' interim final grandfather regulations (or a similar statement) whenever a summary of the benefits under the plan is provided to participants and beneficiaries.
Finally, grandfathered group health plans that change health insurance issuers must provide the succeeding health insurance issuer (and the succeeding health insurance issuer must require) documentation of plan terms (including benefits, cost sharing, employer contributions, and annual limits) under the prior health insurance coverage sufficient to make a determination whether the standards of paragraph (g)(1) of the final regulations are exceeded. For additional substantive information about this ICR, see the related notice published in the Federal Register on July 9, 2024 (89 FR 56416).
Comments are invited on: (1) whether the collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the Department, including whether the information will have practical utility; (2) the accuracy of the agency's estimates of the burden and cost of the collection of information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used; (3) ways to enhance the quality, utility and clarity of the information collection; and (4) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are to respond, including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology.
This information collection is subject to the PRA. A Federal agency generally cannot conduct or sponsor a collection of information, and the public is generally not required to respond to an information collection, unless the OMB approves it and displays a currently valid OMB Control Number. In addition, notwithstanding any other provisions of law, no person shall generally be subject to penalty for failing to comply with a collection of information that does not display a valid OMB Control Number. See 5 CFR 1320.5(a) and 1320.6.
DOL seeks PRA authorization for this information collection for three (3) years. OMB authorization for an ICR cannot be for more than three (3) years without renewal. The DOL notes that information collection requirements submitted to the OMB for existing ICRs receive a month-to-month extension while they undergo review.
Agency: DOL-EBSA.
Title of Collection: Affordable Care Act Grandfathered Health Plan Disclosure, Recordkeeping Requirement, and Change in Carrier Disclosure.
OMB Control Number: 1210-0140.
Affected Public: Private sector, Businesses or other for-profits, Not-for-profit institutions.
Total Estimated Number of Respondents: 180,240.
Total Estimated Number of Responses: 5,010,656.
Total Estimated Annual Time Burden: 655 hours.
Total Estimated Annual Other Costs Burden: $134,650.
(Authority: 44 U.S.C. 3507(a)(1)(D))
Michael Howell,
Senior Paperwork Reduction Act Analyst.
[FR Doc. 2025-07393 Filed 4-29-25; 8:45 am]
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