On April 11, 2020, the Departments of Labor (“DOL”), Health and Human Services (“HHS”), and the Treasury (collectively, “the Departments”) issued a set of FAQs intended to assist stakeholders grappling with the provisions of...more
On March 12, 2020, the IRS issued notice 2020-15, providing that a health plan will not fail to be a High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP) merely because it provides testing for and treatment of COVID-19 without a deductible or...more
When the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was signed some nine years ago, many employers wondered what would become of COBRA (aka, the continuation coverage requirements of the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of...more
The contraceptive mandate, one of the more controversial provisions of the Affordable Care Act, continues to make news as various stakeholders duke it out in and out of court. This blog post describes the history of the...more
The 21st Century Cures Act (Cures Act), enacted on December 13, 2016, provides a new opportunity for small employers to help employees pay for health insurance: the “qualified small employer health reimbursement arrangement”...more
Even though the first year of the Affordable Care Act’s employer mandate is in effect and fully phased-in, it has been our experience that few employers have bothered to review their employee handbooks to reflect the ACA. ...more
While Americans everywhere were busy eating turkey and drinking eggnog last November and December, our government was hard at work attending to budget matters. Tucked among the appropriations were several fairly significant...more
The United States has entered a new era of health care reform. Until now, United States employers were generally not required to provide health care coverage to employees (although many did so for employee relations and...more
On January 1, 2015, the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) employer shared responsibility mandate took effect. Up until July 1, 2013, most employers doing business in Massachusetts were required to comply with an employer mandate...more
As we reported in our post earlier today, the Obama administration has decided to delay implementation of the “employer shared responsibility” mandate for in order to afford employers more time to prepare for compliance. ...more
As 2014 rapidly approaches, employers of all sizes and all industries are working hard to avoid the Affordable Care Act’s (the “Act”) Employer Mandate, now appearing in the Internal Revenue Code, Section 4980H. For employers...more
On Tuesday, January 8, 2013, the Patrick administration proposed legislation that will repeal the Massachusetts Fair Share Law effective June 30, 2013. In effect since 2006, the Fair Share Law requires companies with...more