free preventive care, prohibit cost-sharing

HHS and the Departments of Labor and Treasury have issued interim final rules (IFRs) requiring group health plans and health insurance coverage providers in both the group and individual markets to provide evidence-based preventive services and eliminate cost-sharing requirements for such services.
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) (P.L. 111-148) and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act (HCERA) (P.L. 111-152) reorganized, amended, and added to the provisions of part A of title XXVII of the Public Health Service Act (PHS Act) relating to group health plans and health insurance issuers in both the group and individual markets. PPACA also added section 715(a)(1) to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) and section 9815(a)(1) to the Internal Revenue Code (the Code) to incorporate these new provisions into ERISA and the Code, and make them applicable to group health plans and health insurance issuers providing health insurance coverage in connection with group health plans.
Health plan requirements. Section 2713 of the PHS Act, as added by PPACA, and these IFRs require that a group health plan and a health insurance issuer offering group or individual health insurance coverage provide benefits for and prohibit the imposition of cost-sharing requirements with respect to:
Evidence-based items or services that have in effect a rating of A or B in the current recommendations of the United States Preventive Services Task Force with respect to the individual involved.
Immunizations for routine use in children, adolescents, and adults that have in effect a recommendation from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention with respect to the individual involved.
With respect to infants, children, and adolescents, evidence-informed preventive care and screenings provided for in the comprehensive guidelines supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA).
With respect to women, evidence-informed preventive care and screening provided for in comprehensive guidelines supported by HRSA. HHS plans to issue these guidelines no later than August 1, 2011.