Monday, the Internal Revenue Service issued preliminary but much-anticipated guidance on the so-called Cadillac tax imposed by the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The new notice offers very few concrete answers to employer...more
The Internal Revenue Service has finalized the forms and instructions for reporting information necessary for enforcement of the individual and employer mandates under sections 6055 and 6056 of the Internal Revenue Code. The...more
In a recent notice, the Internal Revenue Service has tempered prior guidance that closed the door on employer arrangements for paying the cost of individual health insurance for employees. The IRS still views these premium...more
2/26/2015
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Health Insurance ,
IRS ,
Medical Reimbursement Plans ,
Medicare ,
Medicare Part A ,
Medicare Part B ,
TRICARE ,
Waivers
With the news of the breach of security at Anthem health plans, many employers have been wondering whether their employees are affected and how they should respond. The breach extends to members in Anthem-affiliated plans and...more
In M&G Polymers v. Tackett, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that ordinary contract principles govern whether a collective bargaining agreement vests retirees in health coverage (and the contributions they are required to pay for...more
In the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act (the recently enacted federal budget bill often known as the “CRomnibus” legislation), Congress has exempted health plans designed to cover expatriates from most...more
Effective January 1, 2015, colleges and universities will need to comply with the employer mandate under the Affordable Care Act, which will have particular implications involving certain student employees. The employer...more
Late on October 31, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Office of E-Health Standards and Services announced that it was suspending the program that required all health plans to register for a health plan ID...more
Employers and other health plan sponsors may be focused on preparing for the commencement of the employer mandate under the Affordable Care Act on January 1, 2015, but a number of other deadlines and developments are emerging...more
Following up on regulations and forms published earlier this year, the IRS has issued instructions and other guidance on the shared responsibility reporting requirements under the Affordable Care Act....more
The Internal Revenue Service recently released draft versions of the forms that will be used to meet the shared responsibility reporting requirements under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). These draft forms have been released...more
Does the Affordable Care Act (ACA) authorize the payment of premium and copayment subsidies, or “premium assistance subsidies,” to individuals enrolled in a federally established Exchange? On July 22, 2014, two federal courts...more
If you sponsor or administer a group health plan, you are almost certainly taking steps to prepare for legal requirements that will become effective on or before January 1, 2015. New rules under HIPAA, the Affordable Care Act...more
The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled in favor of three for-profit corporations that claimed that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) mandate to provide preventive care coverage for certain types of contraception violated the...more
Today, a U.S. District Court in Pennsylvania nullified Pennsylvania’s Marriage Laws, holding that they violate the due process and equal protection clauses of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. If the ruling stands...more
In a wide-ranging set of frequently asked questions (FAQs) and other guidance, the U.S. Departments of Labor, Treasury, and Health and Human Services have addressed a number of issues pertaining to the Affordable Care Act...more
5/8/2014
/ Affordable Care Act ,
CHIPRA ,
COBRA ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Cost-Sharing ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
FSA ,
Healthcare ,
Preventive Health Care ,
U.S. Treasury
The IRS has issued guidance on two issues affecting health flexible spending arrangements (health FSAs). The first provides guidance on how a health FSA that consists solely of amounts carried forward from the prior year...more
The Internal Revenue Service has published a new notice that addresses specific questions on how the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in U.S. v. Windsor, recognizing same-sex marriage, affects elections and contributions under...more
Before departing for the 2013 Thanksgiving holiday, the Obama administration released several new regulatory announcements and guidance relating to the implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The new guidance delays...more
The Internal Revenue Service, U.S. Department of Labor, and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services have jointly released final regulations and new FAQs implementing the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health...more
The U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) yesterday ruled in Revenue Ruling 2013-17 that same-sex couples, legally married in a jurisdiction that recognizes their marriage, will be...more
In a startling development, the federal government appears ready to delay by one year the effective date of one of the central provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA)—the shared responsibility provisions (more commonly...more
The U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor, and Treasury recently released final regulations on the exemption from providing coverage for contraceptive and certain other preventive services that is available to...more
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has issued an updated version of IRS Form 720 and the instructions. Self-funded group health plan sponsors and health insurers must use this form to report and pay the fee required to fund...more
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