§ 156.270 - Termination of coverage or enrollment for qualified individuals.

§ 156.270 Termination of coverage or enrollment for qualified individuals.

Cross Reference

Link to an amendment published at 88 FR 25923, Apr. 27, 2023.

(a) General requirement. A QHP issuer may only terminate enrollment in a QHP through the Exchange as permitted by the Exchange in accordance with § 155.430(b) of this subchapter. (See also § 147.106 of this subchapter for termination of coverage.)

(b) Termination of coverage or enrollment notice requirement. If a QHP issuer terminates an enrollee's coverage or enrollment in a QHP through the Exchange in accordance with § 155.430(b) of this subchapter, the QHP issuer must, promptly and without undue delay:

(1) Provide the enrollee with a notice of termination that includes the termination effective date and reason for termination.

(2) [Reserved]

(c) Termination of coverage or enrollment due to non-payment of premium. A QHP issuer must establish a standard policy for the termination of enrollment of enrollees through the Exchange due to non-payment of premium as permitted by the Exchange in § 155.430(b)(2)(ii) of this subchapter. This policy for the termination of enrollment:

(1) Must include the grace period for enrollees receiving advance payments of the premium tax credits as described in paragraph (d) of this section; and

(2) Must be applied uniformly to enrollees in similar circumstances.

(d) Grace period for recipients of advance payments of the premium tax credit. A QHP issuer must provide a grace period of 3 consecutive months for an enrollee, who when failing to timely pay premiums, is receiving advance payments of the premium tax credit. During the grace period, the QHP issuer must:

(1) Pay all appropriate claims for services rendered to the enrollee during the first month of the grace period and may pend claims for services rendered to the enrollee in the second and third months of the grace period;

(2) Notify HHS of such non-payment; and,

(3) Notify providers of the possibility for denied claims when an enrollee is in the second and third months of the grace period.

(e) Advance payments of the premium tax credit. For the 3-month grace period described in paragraph (d) of this section, a QHP issuer must:

(1) Continue to collect advance payments of the premium tax credit on behalf of the enrollee from the Department of the Treasury.

(2) Return advance payments of the premium tax credit paid on the behalf of such enrollee for the second and third months of the grace period if the enrollee exhausts the grace period as described in paragraph (g) of this section.

(f) Notice of non-payment of premiums. If an enrollee is delinquent on premium payment, the QHP issuer must provide the enrollee with notice of such payment delinquency. Issuers offering QHPs in Exchanges on the Federal platform must provide such notices promptly and without undue delay, within 10 business days of the date the issuer should have discovered the delinquency.

(g) Exhaustion of grace period. If an enrollee receiving advance payments of the premium tax credit exhausts the 3-month grace period in paragraph (d) of this section without paying all outstanding premiums, subject to a premium payment threshold implemented under § 155.400(g) of this subchapter, if applicable, the QHP issuer must terminate the enrollee's enrollment through the Exchange on the effective date described in § 155.430(d)(4) of this subchapter, provided that the QHP issuer meets the notice requirement specified in paragraph (b) of this section.

(h) Records of termination of coverage. QHP issuers must maintain records in accordance with Exchange standards established in accordance with § 155.430(c) of this subchapter.

(i) Effective date of termination of coverage or enrollment. QHP issuers must abide by the termination of coverage or enrollment effective dates described in § 155.430(d) of this subchapter.

(j) Operational instructions. QHP issuers must follow the transaction rules established by the Exchange in accordance with § 155.430(e) of this subchapter.

[77 FR 18469, Mar. 27, 2012, as amended at 78 FR 42322, July 15, 2013; 78 FR 54143, Aug. 30, 2013; 79 FR 30351, May 27, 2014; 80 FR 10874, Feb. 27, 2015; 81 FR 12350, Mar. 8, 2016; 81 FR 53032, Aug. 11, 2016; 85 FR 29261, May 14, 2020; 88 FR 25923, Apr. 27, 2023]