Healthcare, Employer Group Health Plans

Healthcare Law -- May 21, 2013

by Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP on 5/22/2013

Clearing up the Rumors around Health Reform Delays: What Really Happened, What Won’t and Steps Employers and Insurers Can Take Now - Rumors are flying in health policy circles that the Obama Administration might delay...more

The Employer's Playbook for ACA Compliance: Are You In The 2014 "Pay Or Play" Game?

by Dan S. Brandenburg, Sarah Lockwood Church, Joanne G. Jacobson, Paul Kasicky, Joni Landy, Kevin Wiggins | Saul Ewing LLP on 5/22/2013

For better or worse, the ACA or Health Care Reform is still with us. If you do not want to end up in the penalty box in 2014, you must know whether you are subject to the employer shared responsibility provisions of the ACA...more

Health Care Reform Blog: Bare Bones" Health Plans- Are They Legal?

by Susan J. Freed | Davis Brown Law Firm on 5/21/2013

You may have woken up today to media reports of large employers exploring the idea of dropping traditional health plans in favor of very limited health care plans as a way to lessen the burden imposed on large employers for...more

DOL (Finally) Issues Model Exchange Notice

by Jewelie Grape | Leonard, Street and Deinard - Employee... on 5/16/2013

On May 8, 2013, the Department of Labor (DOL) issued long-awaited temporary guidance and a model notice to be provided to employees about upcoming coverage options through the health care exchange, known as the Marketplace,...more

DOL Updates Model COBRA Notice in Light of Health Care Reform

by Roberta Chevlowe | Proskauer - ERISA Practice Center on 5/13/2013

Come 2014, the Health Insurance Exchanges will provide another option to COBRA “qualified beneficiaries” who are considering whether to elect to continue health coverage under an employer’s group plan....more

DOL Releases Guidance on Employer Notices about Exchange Availability

by Jean C. Hemphill, Robert Kaplan | Ballard Spahr LLP on 5/10/2013

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

Treasury Proposes Minimum Value Rules for Health Plans

by Kurt Anderson, Brian M. Pinheiro | Ballard Spahr LLP on 5/9/2013

The U.S. Department of the Treasury has published proposed regulations that provide guidance on how an employer may determine whether its group health plan provides “minimum value.”...more

Employer Responsibility – Will You Pay or Play?

by Kathryn Paradise, David L. Woodard | Poyner Spruill LLP on 5/7/2013

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

by Mark Alderman | Cozen O'Connor on 5/7/2013

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

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

by Alden J. Bianchi | Mintz Levin - Employment, Labor & Benefits on 5/3/2013

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

by Callan G. Carter | Fisher & Phillips LLP on 5/3/2013

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

Healthcare Update, No. 2, May 2013 - Court Upholds OFCCP's Jurisdiction Over Healthcare Providers

by Cheryl Behymer, Richele Taylor | Fisher & Phillips LLP on 5/1/2013

A federal district court has confirmed the position of the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) finding that three hospitals providing medical services to U.S. government employees, and receiving payments...more

Agencies Issue New FAQs Regarding Implementation of ACA

by James R. Napoli | Proskauer - ERISA Practice Center on 5/1/2013

The US Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services (HHS), and the Treasury (the “Agencies”) jointly issued yesterday a document entitled “FAQs about the Affordable Care Act Implementation Part XV” (“FAQs”) addressing four...more

The ACA’s Effects on the Employer Insurance Market

by Joel Ario, David Herbst | Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP on 4/30/2013

Will Employers Face a Surge in Enrollment? Employers start by asking one big question. Are they currently excluding a significant number of employees to whom they now will need to offer coverage? For many, the answer...more

More Guidance Issued on Summaries of Benefits and Coverage

by Robert Kaplan, Edward I. Leeds | Ballard Spahr LLP on 4/26/2013

The U.S. Department of Labor has issued a set of frequently asked questions, together with a new template, for the Summary of Benefits and Coverage (SBC) that applies to group health plans and individual health insurance. The...more

Healthcare Law -- Apr 22, 2013

by Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP on 4/22/2013

In This Issue: The ACA’s Effects on the Employer Insurance Market; Using the Premium Assistance Option to Purchase Coverage for Medicaid Beneficiaries in the Exchange: A Review of the Legal, Policy and Operational Issues; and...more

New Affordable Care Act Fees Impact Group Health Plans in 2013 and 2014

by Deborah Bracy, Susan Whittaker Hughes, John McGowan, Jennifer Mills | BakerHostetler on 4/16/2013

On July 31, 2013, the first of various fees will be due that are imposed by the Affordable Care Act on self-insured group health plans and/or issuers of insured health policies providing accident and health coverage. Beyond...more

Health Reform - New Guidance On Eligibility Waiting Periods (or, when is 90 days not 90 days?)

by Hugh Davis | Poyner Spruill LLP on 4/16/2013

Starting in 2014, federal law will prohibit group health plans from imposing eligibility waiting periods longer than 90 days. Recently, federal regulators published proposed regulations designed to implement this limitation....more

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

by Alden J. Bianchi | Mintz Levin - Employment, Labor & Benefits on 4/12/2013

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

by Wesley Roberts, Michael Sheridan | Butler, Snow, O'Mara, Stevens and Cannada,... on 4/11/2013

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

Wellness Programs—Money and Trinkets for Healthy Habits May Be Taxable

by Aimee Dreiss, Vicki M. Nielsen | Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,... on 4/11/2013

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

Controlling the “Play or Pay Penalty” under Healthcare Reform

by Lori Oliphant | Winstead PC on 4/11/2013

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

by Aimee Dreiss, Vicki M. Nielsen | Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,... on 4/10/2013

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

Higher Insurance Premiums For Smokers And The Obese

by Cynthia A. Augello | Cullen and Dykman LLP on 4/9/2013

The perils of smoking and obesity have long been the topic of conversation in doctors’ offices and between nagging family members. However, employers are jumping on the bandwagon by imposing higher health insurance premiums...more

Healthcare Industry Legal Alert: Federal Judge Finds That OFCCP Has Jurisdiction Over Three Hospitals

by Bennet Alsher | FordHarrison on 4/5/2013

The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs ("OFCCP") has jurisdiction over three hospitals that provided medical services to federal employees who were members of an HMO, according to Judge Paul L. Friedman of the...more

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Healthcare › Employer Group Health Plans