Administration signals doubts about calculator permitting plans without hospital benefits

Insurance consultants were shocked recently to learn that Obama administration rules allow large companies to offer 2015 worker health plans that don't include hospital benefits. Now the administration is concerned too. Treasury Department officials are preparing to reverse course on an official calculator that permits plans without hospital coverage to pass the health law's strictest standard for large employers, said industry lawyers who have spoken to them. These sources expect the administration to disallow such coverage by the end of the year. The calculator is an online spreadsheet developed by the Department of Health and Human Services.