The Health and Human Services (HHS) Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), recently issued its final 2016 Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters (2016 Payment Notice), in which it stated that, starting in the 2016 plan year, the self-only annual limitation on cost sharing applies to each individual, regardless of whether the individual is enrolled in other than self-only coverage, including in a family high deductible Health Plan (HDHP). The significance of this is that it effectively embeds an individual out-of-pocket limit in all family group health plans with a higher family deductible.
For example, an HDHP plan that has a $10,000 family deductible may provide payment for covered medical expenses for a member of the family if that member has incurred covered medical expenses during the year of at least $2,600 (the minimum deductible for a 2015 family HDHP). Under the policy finalized in the 2016 Payment Notice, this plan must also apply the annual limitation on cost sharing for self only coverage ($6,600 in 2015) to each individual in the plan, even if this amount is below the $10,000 family deductible limit.
