§ 156.145 - Determination of minimum value.

§ 156.145 Determination of minimum value.

(a) Acceptable methods for determining MV. An employer-sponsored plan provides minimum value (MV) only if the percentage of the total allowed costs of benefits provided under the plan is greater than or equal to 60 percent, and the benefits under the plan include substantial coverage of inpatient hospital services and physician services. An employer-sponsored plan may use one of the following methods to determine whether the percentage of the total allowed costs of benefits provided under the plan is not less than 60 percent.

(1) The MV Calculator to be made available by HHS and the Internal Revenue Service. The result derived from the calculator may be modified under the rules in paragraph (b) of this section.

(2) Any safe harbor established by HHS and the Internal Revenue Service.

(3) A group health plan may seek certification by an actuary to determine MV if the plan contains non-standard features that are not suitable for either of the methods described in paragraphs (a)(1) or (2) of this section. The determination of MV must be made by a member of the American Academy of Actuaries, based on an analysis performed in accordance with generally accepted actuarial principles and methodologies.

(4) Any plan in the small group market that meets any of the levels of coverage, as described in § 156.140 of this subpart, satisfies minimum value.

(b) Benefits that may be counted towards the determination of MV.

(1) In the event that a group health plan uses the MV Calculator and offers an EHB outside of the parameters of the MV Calculator, the plan may seek an actuary, who is a member of the American Academy of Actuaries, to determine the value of that benefit and adjust the result derived from the MV Calculator to reflect that value.

(2) For the purposes of applying the options described in paragraph (a) of this section in determining MV, a group health plan will be permitted to take into account all benefits provided by the plan that are included in any one of the EHB-benchmarks.

(c) Standard population. The standard population for MV determinations described in paragraph (a) of this section is the standard population developed by HHS for such use and described through summary statistics issued by HHS. The standard population for MV must reflect the population covered by self-insured group health plans.

(d) Employer contributions to health savings accounts and amounts made available under certain health reimbursement arrangements. For employer-sponsored self-insured group health plans and insured group health plans that at the time of purchase are offered in conjunction with an HSA or with integrated HRAs that may be used only for cost-sharing, annual employer contributions to HSAs and amounts newly made available under such HRAs for the current year are:

(1) Counted towards the total anticipated medical spending of the standard population that is paid by the health plan; and

(2) Adjusted to reflect the expected spending for health care costs in a benefit year so that:

(i) Any current year HSA contributions are accounted for; and

(ii) The amounts newly made available under such integrated HRAs for the current year are accounted for.

[78 FR 12866, Feb. 25, 2013, as amended at 80 FR 10872, Feb. 27, 2015]