MERPs and order of payment

[Miner88]

I need a little help with this one!

A company currently has a MERP that pays the first $750 of the participant's $1000 deductible in the health plan. They want to keep the deductible at $1,000, but now require the participant to pay his $250 first and then the MERP will pay the remaining $750. There is no change in the deductible or the amount that the employer pays through the MERP, so does the health plan (and the MERP) keep its grandfathered status? Or do you have to consider the possibility that some participants may now be paying more (since they may not have incurred more than $750 in deductibles in the past)?