The Best Practice Network Guidelines | The Best Practice Network

• Best Practice » Regulation » Health and Safety Regulations » New Healthcare Regulations: 2012 » New Healthcare Regulations: 2012

There has been a recent review of the laws governing health care in the United States for best practices. Reforms now ensure that students receive entitlement for minor health benefits in college.

This reform is to take effect from 1^st January 2012. There will be more new best practices in the form of regulations for providers. Providers of healthcare will now be more accountable for the insurance they provide. It is an essential best practice in universities that students are sponsored for health insurance. It has always been a mandatory best practice over the years. These new reforms will have no effect on the health insurance of students, but will make providers more accountable. Therefore, students are expected to experience minor benefits of these reforms in regulations.

Benefits from Students’ Perspective

The U.S Department of Health and Human Services reported that insurance companies will not have permission to charge coverage limits for a lifetime on health plans for students. Moreover, there are additional best practices that are expected. Insurance companies will not be allowed to drop the health coverage of an ill student when he or she has an error in the application. They will also be unable to deny health coverage to those students that are older than 19 years or that have any pre-existing health conditions.

Earlier on, many students received health insurance under their parents until they were twenty one years old as healthcare best practices. With the enactment of the new health law, students are entitled health insurance under their parents till the age of twenty six. This allows students in Washington University to use their parents’ insurance as a secondary coverage in addition to University Sponsored Health Plans.

Impact of Reform on Physicians

The main impact on physicians is that they will be expected to ensure compliance with these new reforms. Failure to stick to the best practices expected from these reforms will affect their success as physicians. The changes implemented by the ACA (Affordable Care Act) and the PPA (Patient Protection Act) must be followed strictly.

There will be need for best practices in documentation. Moreover, healthcare providers will be burdened with the responsibility of ensuring fraud control. By ensuring compliance with best practices in administration, this can be achieved. However, implementing controls and compliance with the requirements will be a big challenge for both physicians and providers.

Best Practices for Healthcare Providers

Providers will be expected to ensure compliance with the following best practices:

• Refrain from charging students with a lifetime of coverage limit on health plans

• Refrain from dropping ill students with erroneous applications from entitlement to healthcare

• Refrain from denying students above the age of nineteen from healthcare coverage

• Refrain from denying students with pre-existing health conditions healthcare coverage

Compliance with these best practices is in the best of interest of the physicians and healthcare providers. Failure to comply with these reforms as a risk management strategy will lead to severe consequences.

Further reading: Corporate Governance | Audit | Performance Improvement