On June 29, 2010, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced that it would begin accepting applications for the Early Retiree Reinsurance Program (Program).  On the same day, the Department of HHS posted the official application for the Program, an updated frequently asked questions document and a guide to application submission dos and don'ts.

      Among the points made clear in the updated materials, HHS stated that all qualified applications will be approved and processed in the order received.  The "first-come, first-served" concept of the Program has been changed to relate more to the claims submission process, which is not yet available.  Reimbursements will be made to approved plans in the order claims submissions are received as long as funds are available.  If you are a plan sponsor who has not yet applied, you may want to consider or re-consider the application process in the very near future.  Incomplete or unaccepted applications will be returned to the plan sponsor and a revised application will be processed at the time it is received.

      Additional information provided in the new materials include:

• The address to which completed applications must be sent, and an HHS request that they be sent by U.S. Mail:

               HHS ERRP Application Center
               4700 Corridor Place
               Suite D
               Beltsville, MD 20705

• A requirement to use only the final official application form provided online.  Plan sponsors that completed responses on the draft application will need to retype those responses on the official application.

• More detail regarding how plan sponsors may use reimbursements and demonstrate their maintenance of effort with respect to current contributions.

• Clarification on how to describe the benefit options offered to early retirees.

      The Program, which was established under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), reimburses participating employers, retirement systems and other retiree health plan sponsors for a portion of the costs for providing health coverage to early retirees.  However, the PPACA limits the Program's funding to $5 billion and gives the Secretary of HHS discretion to stop accepting applications based on the projected or actual availability of funding.  Our understanding of the updated HHS materials is that HHS does not intend to shut down the application process until some time after the reimbursement process is established.  However, we urge anyone intending to apply for participation in the Program to consult the updated materials and submit a completed official application as soon as possible.  An approved application is the first step to being able to submit claims.

      View the official application.

      For more details regarding the Program, read our previous Health Care Reform alerts on the Early Retiree Reinsurance Program for governmental employers and private employers.

      If you have questions, please contact Christopher Sears, Mary Beth Braitman, Tara Sciscoe, Shalina Schaefer or an Ice Miller employee benefits attorney.