The U.S. Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and the Treasury have finalized regulations under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that address certain exceptions under the ACA. Among other things, the regulations...more
In recently issued guidance, the U.S. Departments of Treasury, Labor, and Health and Human Services indicated that they will indefinitely extend relief to colleges and universities that subsidize the cost of individual...more
As we start looking forward to 2017, and as many employers head into annual enrollment periods this fall, employers need to be aware of recent changes in the law that have a significant impact on health benefit plans. This...more
9/28/2016
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Mandates ,
Form 1094 ,
Form 1095 ,
Genetic Discrimination ,
GINA ,
Health Insurance ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
HIPAA Audits ,
IRS ,
Non-Discrimination Rules ,
Opt-Outs ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Wellness Programs
The IRS has issued proposed regulations on the individual mandate reporting requirements under section 6055 of the Internal Revenue Code. To a significant degree, the new regulations reflect guidance previously published by...more
8/4/2016
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Health Insurance ,
Healthcare ,
Individual Mandate ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
IRS ,
Minimum Essential Coverage ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Section 6055 ,
Section 6056
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced an agreement with Catholic Health Services of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia (CHCS), settling allegations that CHCS violated the Health...more
7/25/2016
/ Business Associates ,
Corrective Actions ,
Data Breach ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
HIPAA Breach ,
iPhone ,
OCR ,
Penalties ,
PHI
The Office of Civil Rights (OCR) of the Department of Health and Human Services has moved forward with Phase 2 of its Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) audit program. On Monday, July 11,...more
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has issued final regulations under Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) which prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, or...more
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has published final regulations and a set of questions and answers on how the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) applies to employer-sponsored wellness programs that offer...more
The Office of Civil Rights (OCR) of the Department of Health and Human Services has begun Phase 2 of its audit program under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). In this phase, OCR will:
-...more
In today's economy, organizations are increasingly looking to nontraditional sources of labor, including use of leased, outsourced, and other staffing arrangements that involve individuals who may not be on the organization's...more
4/7/2016
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Indemnification ,
Joint Employers ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Staffing Agencies ,
Title VII ,
Wage and Hour ,
Young Lawyers
ERISA does not allow a state to compel a self-insured group health plan to compile and report medical claims data for inclusion in a state-wide all-payer health care database, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled in a landmark...more
A federal district court in Wisconsin has upheld an employer-sponsored wellness program against a challenge by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) that the program violated the Americans with Disabilities Act...more
The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that an ERISA plan has no right to recover benefits paid on behalf of a participant where the participant has already dissipated settlement funds received from a third party.
In...more
Recognizing that many employers and others may need additional time to prepare reports under new Affordable Care Act requirements, the IRS has announced an automatic extension of the deadline for delivering these reports. As...more
Following up on the issuance of final regulations on various market reform provisions under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the IRS has issued a notice with Questions and Answers that take a more detailed look at specific ACA...more
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has followed up on proposed regulations that it issued this spring on wellness programs under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) with a new set of proposed regulations...more
The IRS has finalized the 2015 forms and instructions for reporting under the individual and employer mandates and issued additional guidance on these new reporting requirements. The following forms are now available...more
10/1/2015
/ Affordable Care Act ,
COBRA ,
Compliance ,
Employer Mandates ,
Form 1094 ,
Form 1095 ,
Health Insurance ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
HRA ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
IRS ,
Reimbursements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Required Forms ,
TRICARE ,
Veterans Administration
The IRS has completed drafts of the 2015 forms and instructions for employers, insurers, and other health plan sponsors to use to meet their reporting obligations for the employer and individual mandates under the Affordable...more
The Internal Revenue Service has issued a new notice addressing issues relating to future rules governing the calculation and payment of the so-called “Cadillac tax” under the Affordable Care Act. Beginning in 2018, the ACA...more
The U.S. Departments of Treasury, Labor (DOL) and Health and Human Services (HHS) have issued interim final regulations and Frequently Asked Questions and Answers on the cost-free coverage of preventive services under the...more
8/3/2015
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Burwell v Hobby Lobby ,
Closely Held Businesses ,
Contraceptive Coverage Mandate ,
Corporate Governance ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Health Insurance ,
Healthcare ,
Hobby Lobby ,
Preventive Health Care ,
Privately Held Corporations ,
Religious Institutions ,
U.S. Treasury
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled today that all states must license marriages between two people of the same sex on the same terms that apply to opposite-sex couples and must recognize same-sex marriages that are validly...more
In a much-anticipated decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled today that individuals who enroll for coverage in a health insurance exchange may qualify for a subsidy to make that coverage more affordable, regardless of whether...more
The U.S. Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and the Treasury have jointly issued a new set of FAQs that clarifies the application of the rules establishing cost-sharing limits. For 2016, non-grandfathered group...more
Recent guidance issued jointly by the U.S. Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and the Treasury clarifies how the Affordable Care Act's requirement to provide cost-free coverage for preventive care applies to...more
After much silence, some litigation, and recent congressional hearings, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has at long last proposed regulations (together with a fact sheet and set of frequently asked...more