MI DIFS Bulletin 2019-05-INS
2020 Form and Rate Filing Requirements for Stand-Alone Dental Plans __________________________________________
STATE OF MICHIGAN
DEPARTMENT OF INSURANCE AND FINANCIAL SERVICES
Bulletin 2019-05-INS
In the matter of
2020 Form and Rate Filing
Requirements for Stand-Alone Dental Plans
__________________________________________/
Issued and entered
this 21st day of March 2019
by Anita G. Fox
Director
Information in this Bulletin is subject to change as federal guidance is finalized. The final
Letter to Issuers in the Federally-Facilitated Exchanges and Notice of Benefit and
Payment Parameters have not yet been issued. Issuers are strongly urged to routinely
check the Department of Insurance and Financial Services (DIFS) website and the
System for Electronic Rate and Form Filing (SERFF) state messages for updates.
SECTION 1: CERTIFICATION AND RECERTIFICATION FILING REQUIREMENTS
FOR STAND-ALONE DENTAL PLANS (SADPs) ON- AND OFF-MARKETPLACE
General Information
DIFS will continue to perform Plan Management functions for the 2020 plan year
(PY20). Plan Management functions are part of DIFS’ regulatory role for products
offered on- and off-Marketplace. Issuers will work directly with DIFS to submit all
Stand-Alone Dental Plan (SADP) application data in accordance with federal and
state guidelines. SERFF will be used by issuers to transmit information to DIFS,
and DIFS will use SERFF to transmit information to the Centers for Medicare
& Medicaid Services (CMS).
Issuers will again be required by CMS to register for the CCIIO Plan Management
Comm unity. This platform will be utilized to issue all notices, including corrections
and notification notices.
New Plans and Recertification of SADPs
For PY20, DIFS’ process for certification and recertification of a SADP is consistent
with the process used in prior plan years. Issuers submitting previously-approved
plans for recertification will be required to submit much of the same information
as for prior plan years. Issuers submitting plans for certification for the first
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time should review the pertinent federal and state guidance. The omission of
any federal or state requirement from this Bulletin should not be construed to
mean that compliance with those requirements is not necessary. For
additional guidance, issuers are urged to refer to the 2020 Draft Letter to Issuers
in the Federally-facilitated Exchanges (Draft Letter).
PY20 SADP Filing Requirements
A complete submission includes SERFF Form/Rate filing and Binder, with all
required validated templates and associated items, as outlined in Exhibit 1.
Issuers are required to run the PY20 QHP Application Tools and Data Integrity
Tool for the initial and any subsequent template submissions. Please note: only one
Business Rules Template needs to be completed. The one template will include
both individual and small group plans. However, the Business Rules Template
must be submitted in both the individual and small group SERFF Form/Rate
filing and Binder.
Stand-Alone Dental Checklist Requirements
Checklists that must be completed and filed as shown in Exhibit 1 are:
• Checklist for Individual and Small Group SADP – Forms (FIS 2305);
• Checklist for Individual and Small Group SADP – Rates (FIS 2304); and
• Checklist for Individual and Small Group SADP – Network Adequacy (FIS
2314).
SERFF Filings
All filings submitted via SERFF (on- and/or off-Marketplace) are considered to be
public immediately upon being filed in SERFF.
All federal and Michigan-specific templates must be filed in Excel (xlsm) formats.
Do not submit templates in PDF. Additionally, do not submit templates in the
Supporting Documentation tab of the Binder, except for the Plan ID Crosswalk
and MI Network Data templates.
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Timeline for SADP Submissions
Activity
Dates
SADP
Application
Submission
and Review
Process
Michigan Filing Deadline
5/15/19
DIFS 1st transfer of plan data to CMS
6/19/19
DIFS 2nd transfer of plan data to CMS
7/24/19
CMS releases 1st correction notices
8/9/19
Service Area Petition deadline
8/12/19
Final Review
DIFS final transfer of plan data to CMS
8/21/19
CMS reviews final SADP applications
8/27/19 to 9/9/19
SADP
Agreement/
Final
Certification
CMS posts SADP Agreements, plan
lists and sends final correction notices;
Issuers send signed agreements
9/16/19 to 9/24/19
Limited data correction window and last
date to withdraw plans
9/19/19 to 9/20/19
DIFS sends final plan
recommendations
9/16/19 to 9/24/19
CMS sends Certification Notices
10/3/19 to 10/4/19
Open Enrollment
11/1/19 to 12/15/19
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Revisions to Previously-Approved SADPs: Red-Lines Versions
Issuers revising previously-approved SADP forms must provide red-lined
versions, as well as clean versions. The red-lined and clean versions should
both be filed under the Forms Schedule tab of the SERFF Form/Rate filing under
the same document number. Please note: Forms not being revised must still be
submitted.
File Naming
Certain items under the Supporting Documentation tab in the Form/Rate filing
and/or the Binder filing must adhere to a standard naming convention as follows:
IssuerName_MIFormDescription_Version#.
The purpose of adherence to a standard naming convention is to have the ability to
track new versions as they are updated on the system. It is important to start with
Version 1 and use the same issuer name and form description in the file name
each time. In addition, all review tools must be run each time a template is revised.
Items that are required to have a standard naming convention are:
• DIFS SADP Forms Checklist;
• DIFS SADP Rates Checklist;
• DIFS SADP Network Adequacy Checklist;
• MI Network Data Template;
• Rates Table Template;
• Actuarial Memorandum;
• MI Uniform Modification Justification form;
• Justifications and Attestations;
• Any document that is amended from its original version that is not
automatically versioned through SERFF.
Guaranteed Renewability
Although SADPs are considered excepted benefits, and therefore not subject to
federal guaranteed renewability requirements, CMS will apply certain guaranteed
renewability standards to SADPs.
Product Withdrawal
Plans may be withdrawn in accordance with the timeline published in the
Draft Letter. The final opportunity to withdraw plans will be during the plan
confirmation process. Issuers opting to withdraw must submit the following in both
the SERFF Form/Rate filing and Binder:
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1. A completed CMS Plan Withdrawal form for plans offered either on-
Marketplace or on- and off-Marketplace or a list of plans to be withdrawn
for those offered off-Marketplace only;
2. A letter to the DIFS Director outlining the issuer’s intent and how it will
comply with both state and federal guaranteed renewability and availability
requirements; and
3. A copy of the proposed letter that will be sent to enrollees/consumers
outlining the issuer’s intent and detailing all options available to the
enrollee/consumer, including seeking coverage from a different issuer. This
letter must not be sent to enrollees/consumers until approved by DIFS.
Note: Do not make changes to templates.
Uniform Modification and Plan ID Crosswalks
DIFS requires that the Michigan Uniform Modification Justification form (FIS
2316) and Plan ID Crosswalk be submitted as shown on Exhibit 1.
CMS requires that the Plan ID Crosswalk Template, together with authorization
from DIFS, be submitted to CCIIO Plan Management Community for SADPs in
the individual market. The deadline for this submission will be posted soon at the
PM Community website.
Licensure and Good Standing
DIFS will review the licensure status of all issuers filing SADPs on- and/or off-
Marketplace.
Annual Limit on Cost-Sharing
The PY20 out-of-pocket maximums for Marketplace-certified SADPs are $350 for
one covered child and $700 for two or more covered children.
Service Area
An issuer may not make service area changes after the initial submission to DIFS,
unless the issuer petitions CMS for a data change and receives CMS approval,
even if the change is in response to direction from DIFS or CMS. Petitioning CMS
requires submitting a data change request which includes a signed Data Change
Request Form, justification for the change, and evidence of state authorization by
August 12, 2019, to allow CMS enough time for review. Upon CMS’ approval of
the petition, and prior to the final data submission deadline, issuers must submit
documents and templates impacted by service area change in SERFF Binder.
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Please see QHP Certification Application Materials for information about what
constitutes a service area change, to access required forms, and other service
area related resources.
CMS requires that any partial service areas (geographic areas smaller than a
county) must be established without regard to racial, ethnic, language, or health
status factors, or other factors that exclude specific high utilizing, high cost or
medically underserved populations. Issuers with partial service areas must submit
a partial service area justification in the Supporting Documentation tab of the
SERFF Binder. Issuers should refer to the CMS Service Area Partial County
Justification Instructions regarding acceptable reasons for partial service areas.
Partial service area requests will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.
Network Adequacy
For PY20, the standard for network adequacy review is unchanged from PY19 and
the Michigan Network Adequacy Guidance reflects network sufficiency
standards and requirements. See also Network Data Template Instructions and
Checklist for Individual and Small Group SADP Plans – Network Adequacy.
Essential Community Providers
For PY20, the review of Essential Community Providers (ECP) is unchanged from
PY19. For ECP requirements, see the Draft Letter and the Proposed Notice.
SECTION 2: CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS
Readability
Submitted forms must comply with the following readability standards found
under MCL 500.2236(3):
1. Each form entered in the SERFF Forms Schedule tab shall include the
form’s readability score.
2. The readability score must be based on the Microsoft Word Flesch
Reading Ease test and have a score of 45 or higher. Forms with a
Microsoft Word Flesch Reading Ease score lower than 45 will not be
approved by DIFS or transferred to CMS for certification.
3. Dental policies and certificates with more than 3,000 words printed on not
more than three pages, or more than three pages of text regardless of the
number of words, shall contain a table of contents. (This requirement
does not apply to riders or endorsements.)
4. Be printed in font size not less than 10 point.
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Dependent Coverage
Essential Health Benefit (EHB) coverage for pediatric services is required for
enrollees until at least the end of the month in which the enrollee turns 19 years of
age.
Internal Formal Grievance and External Review Procedures
SADPs offered by commercial issuers must offer a formal grievance procedure
pursuant to MCL 500.2213 and adhere to the external review process under the
Patient’s Right to Independent Review Act (PRIRA), PA 251 of 2000 (MCL
550.1901 to 550.1929). These procedures must be part of the policy and
submitted for approval with the SADP filing. If the issuer has DIFS-approved
grievance and external review procedures, these must be filed under the
Supporting Documentation tab of the SERFF Form/Rate filing.
Complaint and Grievance Procedures must include the DIFS PRIRA link in addition
to the DIFS fax number, email address, and mailing address.
Marketplace Certification
All SADPs intended to be EHB-compliant must be Marketplace-certified, even if
the plan will not be marketed on-Marketplace. The only SADPs that can be
considered to provide EHB must have followed the certification process and have
been approved and recommended for certification to CMS.
Benefit Enhancement in Excess of EHB
Issuers of SADPs may offer enhanced benefit and benefit payment arrangements in
excess of EHB. These enhanced arrangements are limited to non-EHB
pediatric oral benefits only.
SECTION 3: RATING
DIFS will not accept more than one filing per market (individual or small group).
Issuers that offer various types of offerings, such as on- and off-Marketplace or
pediatric and adult, must submit all filings in the same Form/Rate filing. SADP
issuers may submit more than one actuarial memorandum or format their actuarial
memorandum to adequately address their entire filing.
All SADP issuers must complete a separate Rates Table Template for individual
and small group markets. For all plans other than the FF-SHOP plans, rates
should be identified as either “guaranteed” or “estimated” in the Plans and
Benefits Template and can either be individually age rated or family tier rated. For
FF-SHOP plans, rates must be “guaranteed” and individually age rated.
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Per the Proposed Notice, issuers may offer pediatric dental EHBs at any actuarial
value (AV). SADP issuers must, however, certify the AV of each SADP coverage.
SADP Michigan rate filings must include the following components:
• Rate manual showing only Michigan-specific rates;
• Sample rate calculation;
• Michigan Rate Checklist for SADPs;
• Actuarial memorandum addressing items from the Michigan Rate Checklist,
including but not limited to:
ď‚§ Description and exhibits showing the development of rates from the
experience;
ď‚§ Derivation of the EHB apportionment percentage for pediatric dental
(individual plans only).
Any questions regarding this bulletin should be directed to:
Department of Insurance and Financial Services
Office of Insurance Rates and Forms
530 West Allegan Street, 7th Floor
Lansing, Michigan 48933
Toll Free: (877) 999-6442
/s/
__________________________________
Anita G. Fox
Director
Exhibit 1
PY20 Stand-Alone Dental Filing Requirements
Federal Required Templates
Requires Submission via SERFF
SERFF Location
Essential Community Providers/Network Adequacy
Yes
Binder only
Plans and Benefits
Yes
Binder only
Service Area
Yes
Binder only
Network ID
Yes
Binder only
Rates Table
Yes
Form/Rate Filing & Binder
Business Rules – One per Issuer, include both Individual
and Small Group on the same template
Yes
Form/Rate Filing & Binder
Plan ID Crosswalk (Individual only) *
Yes
Binder only
Michigan Required Documents
Michigan Network Data Template *
Yes
Binder only
Checklist for Individual and Small Group Stand-Alone
Dental Plans – Forms
Yes
Form/Rate Filing & Binder
Checklist for Individual and Small Group Stand-Alone
Dental Plans – Rates
Yes
Form/Rate Filing & Binder
Checklist for Individual and Small Group Stand-Alone
Dental Plans – Network Adequacy
Yes
Binder only
Company Actuarial Memorandum
Yes
Form/Rate Filing & Binder
MI Uniform Modification Justification Form
Yes
Form/Rate Filing & Binder
Filing Deadline
5/15/2019
NOTE: All required templates must be completed and, if applicable, validated before filing. Use of the PY20 QHP Application Tools and
Data Integrity Tool is required for the initial template and any subsequent template submissions. All Template revisions must be uploaded
to the same locations as originally filed (i.e., SERFF Form/Rate Filing, Binder or BOTH). *With the exception of the Plan ID Crosswalk
and MI Network Data templates, do not submit templates in the Supporting Documentation tab of the Binder.