Aon Washington Report

February 27, 2017

Legislative/Executive

President Trump to Address Congress February 28, 2017

President Trump is scheduled to speak before a joint session of Congress this Tuesday, February 28, 2017.

President Signs Executive Order Enforcing Regulatory Reform Agenda

On February 24, 2017, President Trump signed an Executive Order on “Enforcing the Regulatory Reform Agenda.” The Executive Order requires every agency to establish a Regulatory Reform Task Force. According to the press release:

• Each Regulatory Reform Task Force will evaluate existing regulations and identify candidates for repeal or modification;
• Each agency’s Task Force will focus on eliminating costly and unnecessary regulations; and
• Each agency will measure and report progress in achieving the President’s directives.

The Executive Order is available here.

The news release is available here.

Health

CMS Issues Guidance Allowing “Grandmothered” Health Plans to Renew Through 2018

On February 23, 2017, the Department of Health and Human Services’ Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) published guidance addressing “grandmothered” health care plans as part of the Affordable Care Act. If a current health insurance policy is is not grandfathered but was in effect prior to 2014, the plan is considered a transitional, or a “grandmothered” policy. These plans, which were not fully Affordable Care Act compliant, and were purchased between March 23, 2010, and October 1, 2013 (in some states, policies purchased through December 31, 2013), are considered grandmothered. The latest CMS guidance allows grandmothered plans (at a state’s discretion) to renew until as late as October 1, 2018, as long as they terminate no later than December 31, 2018 (this is the same as an extension that was issued in 2016, but with the deadlines pushed out by one year).

The CMS guidance is available here.