As 2017 comes to an end, we are pleased to present you with our traditional End of Year Plan Sponsor “To Do” Lists. This year, we are publishing our “To Do” Lists in four separate Employee Benefits Updates. Part 1 covered...more
Kentucky receives final approval from CMS to transition its Marketplace to the HealthCare.gov platform; Ohio puts a prescription drug price ceiling on its November 2017 ballot; and a new study links Medicaid expansion to...more
A federal report finds that Marketplace premiums are lower in expansion states; Massachusetts and Pennsylvania launch prescription drug monitoring systems; and Kentucky submits a slightly modified Medicaid expansion waiver to...more
Editor's Overview - In this month's newsletter, we focus on the recent wave of guidance and case law related to the Affordable Care Act. We also discuss IRS Notice 2015-86, which provides guidance on the application of...more
For many employers, 2016 will bring new requirements and challenges with respect to compliance with the Affordable Care Act (ACA). However, their burden in years beyond 2016 may very likely diminish because of recent changes...more
Despite a marked lack of success for efforts in Congress and through the courts to repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (ACA) completely, or substantially interrupt its implementation, the Bipartisan...more
Good news! On November 2, 2015, President Obama signed the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 into law and repealed Section 18A of the Fair Labor Standards Act, enacted as part of health reform. Section 18A required employers...more
The recently enacted Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 repealed Section 1511 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which generally would have required employers with more than 200 full-time employees to automatically enroll new...more
Sixty-seven months ago, Congress ordered employers of 200 or more full-time employees to switch from opt-in to opt-out enrollment. See 29 U.S.C. § 218a. But the enforcement agencies could not write a rule that did more good...more
On November 2nd, the President signed legislation that will raise the debt ceiling through March 2017. The legislation includes important provisions relating to pension funding, PBGC premiums, and the Affordable Care Act. ...more
On November 2, 2015, President Obama signed into law the Bipartisan Budget Agreement of 2015, H.R. 1314, which, in addition to lifting mandatory spending caps and raising the federal debt ceiling, has repealed the Affordable...more
The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015, Pub. L. No. 114-74, which was signed by President Obama on November 2, 2015, included a little-publicized provision that repealed the Affordable Care Act’s automatic enrollment requirement. ...more
The Bipartisan Budget Act includes the following important employee-benefit related provisions: - It repeals the automatic enrollment mandate of the Affordable Care Act. Under the ACA, employers with more than 200...more
Ways & Means Leadership Changes – Health Policy Implications Looming: As Congress pushes forward with a two-year budget deal, and new Speaker Paul Ryan begins his tenure as the top Republican in the House of...more
On Monday, November 2nd, the President signed the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 (BBA). Some legislators had hoped that a budget deal would at least include a repeal of the controversial 40% excise tax on high-cost health...more
Budget legislation signed into law by President Barack Obama on November 2, 2015, the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015, repeals the controversial automatic enrollment provision under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Section 18A of...more
On September 5, 2014, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) published a final rule, effective October 6, 2014, that, among other things, specifies the auto-enrollment process for consumers who receive health...more
Keeping up with healthcare reform regulations is a challenge for all employers, but healthcare providers may face unique burdens. Here are the top five issues human resources professionals should keep on their radar as...more