Requirements for Accreditation for Participation in the Arkansas Federally-facilitated Exchange Partnership

Arkansas Insurance Department Mike Beebe Governor BULLETIN NO. 1-2013 TO: hi Z•iCE " -ps Pik 71' ARV' Jay Bradford Commissioner ALL LICENSED INSURERS, HEALTH MAINTENANCE ORGANIZATIONS (HMOs), FRATERNAL BENEFIT SOCIETIES, FARMERS' MUTUAL AID ASSOCIATIONS OR COMPANIES, HOSPITAL MEDICAL SERVICE CORPORATIONS, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF INSURANCE COMMISSIONERS, PRODUCER AND COMPANY TRADE ASSOCIATIONS, AND OTHER INTERESTED PARTIES FROM: ARKANSAS INSURANCE DEPARTMENT SUBJECT: REQUIREMENTS FOR ACCREDITATION FOR PARTICIPATION IN THE ARKANSASFEDERALLY-FACILITATED EXCHANGE PARTNERSHIP DATE: January 8, 2013 45 CFR 155.1045(a) requires that an Exchange must establish a timeline by which a Qualified Health Plan (QHP) issuer must be accredited according to 45 CFR 156.275. To fulfill this requirement, the Arkansas Insurance Department (AID) will require all plans that are applying to become a (QHP) for participation in the Federally-facilitated Exchange Partnership (FFE-P) to follow the FFE accreditation timeline established in 45 CFR 155.1045 (b) which was proposed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in rulemaking published on November 26, 2012. This proposed rule requires the following timeline for QHP accreditation: • A FFE in Arkansas will accept existing commercial, or Exchange health plan accreditation from HHS- recognized accrediting entities. For the purposes of QHP certification in 2013, these are the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) and URAC. Issuers with existing accreditation will be required to authorize the release of their accreditation survey data to AID and the FFE-P. • QHP issuers without existing commercial or Exchange health plan accreditation from HHS- recognized accrediting entities must schedule an accreditation review during their first year of certification and receive accreditation on QHP policies and procedures prior to their second year of QHP certification . • Prior to the QHP issuer's fourth year of QHP certification and in every subsequent year of certification, a QHP issuer must be accredited in accordance with 45 CFR 156.275 We thank you for your cooperation and look forward to working with you to ensure this process works as smoothly as possible. If you have any questions or comments, please call the Health Benefits Exchange Partnership Division at 50/ -683-3483, or email us at insurance.exchangeftarkansas.gov JAY B" DF RD, COMMISSIONER DATE ARKANSAS INSURANCE D PARTMENT 1200 West Third Street, Little Rock, AR 72201-1904 • (501) 371-2600 • (501) 371-2618 fax • www.insurance.arkansas.gov Information (800) 282-9134 • Consumer Services (800) 852-5494 • Seniors (800) 224-6330 • Criminal Inv. (866) 660-0888