On May 4, the House Republicans narrowly passed the American Health Care Act (AHCA). Except for effective dates, the provisions impacting employers were generally unchanged. One major change to the original bill is that...more
The Trump Administration has issued final market stabilization rules designed to keep insurers in the individual health insurance Marketplaces. The rules are virtually the same as the proposed rules described in our Update...more
Insurers have been pressuring the Trump Administration to relieve some of the uncertainty from the pending ACA “repeal/replace” debate in time for them to decide whether to participate in the individual health insurance...more
On Inauguration Day, President Trump signed an Executive Order to begin dismantling the Affordable Care Act (ACA) or “Obamacare.” While the Order has little immediate effect, and may have been issued on “day one” mainly to...more
The IRS has extended the relief available to employers who offer an “opt-out” payment to employees who decline company medical coverage. This means that for 2017, such payments, whether conditional or unconditional, will not...more
This alert concerns the extension of the deadline for distributing and filing Forms 1094 and 1095.
If you were not already aware, the IRS announced in Notice 2016-70 that the deadline for employers to distribute ACA...more
The recent well-publicized announcement of lawsuits against 403(b) plans of Duke, Yale, NYU, Vanderbilt, and other universities opens a new chapter in ERISA litigation over excessive plan fees. We have reported on this type...more
The IRS has issued new guidance giving sponsors of Safe Harbor 401(k) plans much greater flexibility to amend their plans during a plan year. This is welcome relief from the previous IRS position that had hobbled such plans....more
The IRS issued guidance on Feb. 18, 2015, providing temporary relief until June 30, 2015, from steep penalties for small employers and S-corps that have continued to use premium reimbursement arrangements to provide health...more
New IRS guidance adds two more events that allow participants to change their cafeteria plan elections outside of the annual open enrollment period. These events are designed to coordinate with the employer coverage rules and...more
The IRS has announced new, long-requested relief from the “use it or lose it” rule that will allow health flexible spending account (FSA) participants to carry over up to $500 of unused contributions to the next plan year if...more
The IRS recently released new proposed regulations to implement the Shared Responsibility or “Play or Pay” provisions of Health Care Reform. The proposed regulations provide a wealth of detail on key issues required to...more
The recent “fiscal cliff” tax law, the American Taxpayer Relief Act (ATRA), includes a provision effective Jan. 1, 2013 that greatly expands the ability of plan participants to convert pre-tax plan accounts to after-tax Roth...more