Labor & Employment Law › Tax Law › Health Law

IRS, Treasury Department Issue Proposed Rules Governing Minimum Value, Affordability, and Wellness Programs

A key policy goal of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (the “Act”) is the expansion of health insurance coverage to all Americans. The concepts of “minimum value” and its correlate “actuarial value” speak to the...more

Raising the Stakes of Worker Misclassification Yet Again

New requirements under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act are set to intensify state and federal governments' crackdown on worker misclassification....more

Strategic Implementation of Employer Shared Responsibility Rules & 2014 Planning Considerations

In This Presentation: •Welcome •Overview of the Employer Shared Responsibility Rules - Impact on Corporate Structure - Time Line Examples to Demonstrate Application of Measurement, Administrative & Stability...more

IRS Releases Guidance on Wellness Programs and “Affordability” under the Employer Mandate

On May 3, 2013, the IRS released proposed regulations on certain provisions relating to the federal premium tax credits that eligible individuals will use to purchase subsidized health insurance coverage from public exchanges...more

The Obamacare “Play or Pay” Rules: A Practical Approach

The IRS recently released new proposed regulations to implement the Shared Responsibility or “Play or Pay” provisions of Health Care Reform. The proposed regulations provide a wealth of detail on key issues required to...more

DOL Releases Guidance on Employer Notices about Exchange Availability

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has published guidance on the notice that most employers must provide to their employees by October 1, 2013, about the insurance that will be available through health care marketplaces known...more

May and June Filing and Notice Deadlines for Qualified Retirement and Health and Welfare Plans

Employers and plan sponsors must comply with numerous filing and notice deadlines for their retirement and health and welfare plans. Failure to comply with these deadlines can result in costly penalties and excise taxes. To...more

Employer Responsibility – Will You Pay or Play?

Starting in 2014, provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act become effective known as “Pay or Play” or “Employer Shared Responsibility.” Large employers will be faced with the decision whether to offer...more

Health Care Reform Implementation Update - May 6, 2013

Last week the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued new proposed regulations on FY 2014 payment updates and regulatory policy changes for inpatient and long term care hospitals, skilled nursing facilitates,...more

Health Care Reform Blog: IRS Releases 2014 Out of Pocket Maximum Limits

In 2014 non-grandfathered plans will not be allowed to have an out of pocket maximum greater than that allowed for high deductible health plans....more

Health Care Reform Blog: IRS Proposes Additional Minimum Value Rules

Last Friday the IRS released additional proposed regulations implementing the minimum value requirement for coverage sponsored by employers with 50 or more FTEs. The proposed rules provide that amounts contributed by...more

Staffing Industry Compliance with the Employer Shared Responsibility (aka “Pay-or-Play”) Provisions of the Affordable Care Act:...

Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (the “Act”), the federal government, state governments, insurers, employers, and individuals all share responsibility to make affordable health insurance coverage widely...more

Benefits Update, No. 2, May 2013: Healthcare Reform: To Play Or Pay – That Is The Question

Probably the most important mandate for employers is the “play or pay” mandate, also known as the employer-shared responsibility, which will require large employers (those with the equivalent of 50 or more full-time...more

Halbig, et al. v. Sebelius, et al.

Lawsuit Challenging IRS “Subsidy Expansion Rule” (Full Text Copy)

Lawsuit filed by a group of small business owners and individuals against the Internal Revenue Service over the agency’s “Subsidy Expansion Rule.” From the Blog of Legal Times: “Objecting to what they term an ‘Obamacare...more

IRS Proposes Regulations on $500,000 Deduction Limit for Compensation Provided by Health Insurance Providers

On April 1, 2013, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) published proposed regulations clarifying the $500,000 deduction limit for compensation provided by certain health insurance providers, which is contained in section...more

The Affordable Care Act’s “Play-Or-Pay” Mandate: Who Is A Full-Time Employee For Purposes Of The Employer Shared Responsibility...

Recently, we published a Client Update explaining how the Play-or-Pay mandate, or Employer Shared Responsibility provision, under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) generally works. To summarize, we described how an employer...more

Play or Pay and Minimum Essential Coverage: What, When and How (Much)?

Beginning in 2014, the Affordable Care Act’s employer shared responsibility rules, the so called “play or pay” rules, impose penalties on an employer with more than 50 “full-time equivalent” employees (a large employer) if...more

Health Reform + Related Health Policy News Update - April 2013

In this Issue: - Top News ..Large Hospital Systems Settles for $25.5 Million for False Claims Act Allegations ..Catholics’ Challenge to Contraceptive Coverage Mandate Dismissed As Not Ripe - States...more

On the Manifold Meanings of "Affordability" According to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act

The core policy goals of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (the “Act”)—on which there is near universal consensus—are threefold: expand health care coverage; increase the quality of medical outcomes, and reduce...more

Health Care Reform: Decisions and a Changing World for Employers

Having cleared the hurdles of a Supreme Court decision and the 2010 and 2012 national elections, health care reform mandated by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“PPACA” or the “Act”) is closing in fast on key...more

Controlling the “Play or Pay Penalty” under Healthcare Reform

Proposed rules issued under the Affordable Care Act clarify the determination of “large employer” status and the calculation of the penalty for controlled groups of employers. This guidance confirms that the penalty is...more

Money And Trinkets Provided For Wellness

More and more employers and insurance companies are providing incentives and rewards to employees and their covered dependents to encourage participation in wellness programs—programs designed to improve an individual’s...more

Employer Tax Considerations for Supreme Court’s Pending DOMA Decision

High Court considers the constitutionality of DOMA, which may create tax-refund opportunities for employers and employees before April 15....more

"Executive Compensation and Benefits Report: Proposed Regulations Highlight the Complexity of the $500,000 Deduction Limit for...

On April 1, 2013, the Internal Revenue Service issued proposed regulations providing guidance on the $500,000 deduction limit for compensation paid by certain health insurance companies to their employees. Because of the...more

The Affordable Care Act – It’s Time to Start Counting Hours

The 2010 enactment of the Affordable Care Act (“ACA” or the “Act”) ushered in an enormous social reform effort aimed at improving the nation’s health care system through a series of mandates, premium subsidies, and taxes....more