Roughly a year ago, we reported on a district court judge’s determination that the Affordable Care Act’s (“ACA”) individual mandate was unconstitutional and that, therefore, the entire ACA was invalid. A detailed summary of...more
On October 29, 2018, proposed regulations were published in the Federal Register that would permit employers to offer two new types of health reimbursement arrangements (“HRAs”) that align with the requirements of the...more
Late last year, the Internal Revenue Service (the “Service”) began enforcing penalties with respect to failures to comply with the employer shared responsibility provisions of Section 4980H of the Internal Revenue Code. In...more
Over the past year, there has been a significant focus in the press on various attempts to overhaul or repeal key elements of the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”), which was originally passed into law almost eight years ago. While...more
Editor's Overview - For over two decades, federal law has required covered health plans and insurers to ensure that certain mental health benefits are in parity with offered medical/surgical benefits. The meaning of...more
As 2017 comes to an end, we are pleased to present our traditional End of Year Plan Sponsor “To Do” Lists. This year, we are presenting our “To Do” Lists in four separate Employee Benefits Updates. This Part 1 will cover...more
Many employers were hopeful that the Code Section 4980H penalties would be repealed now that Republicans control Congress and Trump is in the White House. To date, that has not happened, nor has the IRS announced it will not...more
Senate Republicans failed to pass legislation to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act last week. After voting to proceed with debate on the American Health Care Act, which was passed by the House in May, the Senate...more
During his campaign, President-elect Trump promised to make the repeal and replacement of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) a priority. Now that the election is over, what should employers expect? We don’t have a crystal ball,...more
As 2016 comes to an end, we are pleased to present you with our traditional End of Year Plan Sponsor “To Do” Lists. Like last year, we are presenting our “To Do” Lists in three separate Employee Benefits Updates. Part 1 of...more
More than five years after its enactment, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) continues to be one of the top concerns for employers, and rightly so: the ACA is one of the most comprehensive laws impacting employee benefits since...more
2015 is a significant year for health care reform because the large employer shared responsibility penalties under Internal Revenue Code Section 4980H take effect for most large employers. ...more
In last week’s post, we examined the appropriateness of capping the annual hours of new “variable hour employees” as a way to limit exposure under the Affordable Care Act’s employer shared responsibility rules. (These rules...more
On February 10, 2014, the IRS issued final regulations implementing the employer shared responsibility provisions (the “Pay-or-Play Mandate”) of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“PPACA”). The final regulations...more
In a move that will not come as a surprise to anyone who has been following the rocky implementation of the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”), the Obama Administration has yet again delayed important provisions of the ACA. In a...more
Health & Welfare Plans - Health Care Reform: IRS Issues Final ACA “Pay or Play” Regulations - The IRS issued final regulations regarding the employer shared responsibility provisions under the Affordable Care...more
So much attention has been paid to the issuance of the final employer shared responsibility regulations that some might have missed the news that final regulations were recently issued under another of the Affordable Care...more
Welcome to the SW Benefits Update, formerly the Employee Benefits Update. Historically, employers have had complete discretion in deciding whether to offer group health plan coverage to their employees. If they offered...more
In This Issue: Implementation of the Affordable Care Act; Other Federal Regulatory Initiatives; Other Congressional and State Initiatives; and Hearings and Mark-Ups Scheduled. Excerpt from Implementation of the...more
The Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service recently issued final regulations implementing the employer shared responsibility provisions of the Affordable Care Act. For “applicable large employers” — i.e., those with...more
In last week’s post on the topic of the recently issued final regulations under the Affordable Care Act’s employer shared responsibility (a/k/a “pay-or-play”) rules, we suggested that the final regulations broke little new...more
Employers in all industries are well aware of the complexities of the Affordable Care Act, and the seemingly constant barrage of guidance that interprets the health care reform requirements that apply to them. We have a...more
On February 11th, the Treasury Department issued its much-anticipated final regulations on the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) so-called employer mandate, under which certain employers have to either (a) offer affordable,...more
This week the Obama administration announced that it would delay the employer mandate, which requires that businesses with more than 50 full-time employees provide full-time employees with health insurance or pay a penalty,...more
SUMMARY: Final Rules were released late in the day on February 10, 2014 implementing the employer shared responsibility provisions of the Affordable Care Act (pay or play rules or employer mandate)....more