As reported in our “2018 End of Year Plan Sponsor “To Do” List (Part 1) Health & Welfare,” the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act repealed the individual mandate, which spawned a lawsuit challenging the whole of the Affordable Care Act...more
The IRS has announced its next steps regarding the Employer Shared Responsibility Payments (the “ESRPs”), which are the ACA penalties assessable to “Applicable Large Employers” for failing to provide affordable health care...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
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) has significantly changed the legal landscape for employer-sponsored health plans by adding reporting obligations, benefit mandates, fees, notices and potential penalties for plans that do not...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
In our previous blog post, we evaluated the legal issues at stake in King v. Burwell. We will now examine some of the ramifications of a Supreme Court decision that goes against the Obama Administration, assuming such were to...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
Earlier this year, the IRS issued final regulations that provide additional guidance on the employer shared responsibility rules (also called the “pay or play” rules) that will generally apply to employers’ group health plans...more
Particularly with the issuance of final regulations under the Affordable Care Act’s employer shared responsibility rules, employers have been concerned—justifiably—with the pay-or-play penalties. ...more
In February, the Internal Revenue Service (the "IRS") issued final regulations under Section 4980H of the Internal Revenue Code (the "Code"), which establishes the employer "shared responsibility" (or "pay-or-play") mandate...more
Distinguishing employees who are full-time from those who are not takes up a good deal of real estate in final regulations published in the Federal Register on February 12 implementing the Act’s employer shared responsibility...more
Recently issued final regulations on the employer reporting requirements under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) clarify and streamline the process for reporting information relating to the provision of minimum essential coverage...more
On March 5th, 2014, the Treasury Department and the IRS issued two final reporting rules of critical importance to employers...more
Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service published Final Rules to implement the information reporting provisions for insurers and certain employers under the Affordable Care Act ("ACA"),...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
As many small employers rejoice over a delayed effective date, large employers should be rolling up their sleeves to adapt their evolving shared responsibility compliance strategies for 2015 to a new final rule from the U.S....more
Early this week the Internal Revenue Service and Department of Treasury (the “IRS”) issued the first piece of the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) penalty imposition jigsaw puzzle. It then followed up with 46 FAQs on the same...more