QUESTION: Everybody in the employee benefits field uses acronyms like ALE, MLR, and ACA. What do these and other employee benefits acronyms stand for?
ANSWER: Here’s an explanatory list of common acronyms primarily used in our Health Care Reform manual. (Last week’s Checkpoint Question of the Week included acronyms primarily used in our COBRA, HIPAA, and Group Health Plan Mandates manuals, and the Checkpoint Question of the Week from the week before included acronyms from the ERISA Compliance, Self-Insured Health Plans, Cafeteria Plans, Consumer-Driven Health Care, and Fringe Benefits manuals.)
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ACA – Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
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A/MV – Affordability and Minimum Value
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ALE – Applicable Large Employer
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CCIIO – Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight
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IDR – Independent Dispute Resolution
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MEC – Minimum Essential Coverage
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MLR – Medical Loss Ratio
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MRF – Machine-Readable File
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MV – Minimum Value
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PCOR Fees – Fees for Patient-Centered Outcomes Research
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PHSA – Public Health Services Act
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PTC – Premium Tax Credit
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QHP – Qualified Health Plan through an Exchange
For simple, easy-to-understand definitions of these terms, see EBIA’s Health Care Reform manual. EBIA’s Glossary is also available on Checkpoint and in print versions of the manual.
Contributing Editors: EBIA Staff.