Lots of wrecks happen because drivers, staring at what’s directly in front of them, are unaware of dangers coming from other directions. This is an ACA blog, so right now we’re staring at the ACA changes being proposed by the...more
Maxwell Smart, aka “Agent 86” in the 1960’s TV series Get Smart, claimed to have survived “fiendish” water torture – 300 gallons at the rate of one drop a minute. When disbelieved, he asked, “Would you believe a quart?” The...more
In the wee hours of May 5, 2017, a state governor awoke, startled. Late on May 4, he or she had been briefed on the Patient and State Stability Fund and the Federal Invisible Risk Sharing Program described in § 132 of the...more
And if you are an ACA “Applicable Large Employer” (ALE), it was.
The American Health Care Act, H.R. 1628, with last minute amendments noted in H. Rep. 115-109, passed the House of Representatives on Thursday afternoon,...more
Most EEOC retaliation charges are dismissed if the supporting evidence is flimsy. So why should employers expect ACA retaliation charges to be more costly? Here’s why: Gallas v. The Medical Center of Aurora, DOL...more
Watching from afar the Scouts attempting to earn their orienteering merit badges, we could see it on the boys’ faces. They were lost; they were scared. They should have reached their destination an hour ago. Soon, these...more
Here are the highlights we took (quickly) from yesterday afternoon’s Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate for the American Health Care Act.
The AHCA “would reduce federal deficits by $337 billion over the 2017-2026...more
Screenplays, new business ventures and major legislation typically have problems in Act II. Hopes were raised so high in Act I. Now, things seem to drag on and on, pointlessly. Friends tell you to give up or start over...more
During the week reviewed, no new bill was introduced which, if passed, would repeal or replace the Affordable Care Act, and little else happened at the three main ACA enforcement agencies – DOL, HHS and IRS.
Department...more
Since late December, 2016, many Applicable Large Employer Members have received IRS Letter 5699 from a Tax Compliance Officer at an address in Florence, Kentucky. The “Dear Taxpayer” letter is headed: “Request for Employer...more
Nothing resembling a repeal/replace consensus bill emerged from any committee in either chamber during the survey period. Instead, in a Fox News interview broadcast just before the Super Bowl, the President confessed that...more
As previously reported, § 2001 of the 2017 budget bill required all ACA repeal/replace bills to be filed and reported from assigned committees by Friday, January 27, 2017. That didn’t happen. Since our last posting, the...more
Shortly after his January 20 inauguration, President Trump signed an Executive Order (promptly published by Politico) titled, “Minimizing the Economic Burden of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act Pending Appeal.” ...more
On January 13, the House passed the 2017 budget resolution (S. Con. Res. 3), which should be found on President Trump’s desk Monday morning. As previously explained, this sets the stage for a filibuster-proof, budget...more
On January 5, the House passed the “Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny Act of 2017” (H.R. 26), streamlining the process for Congressional review and rejection of administrative agency rules, including a...more
As of Thursday morning, January 5, the general direction and pace of ACA repeal / replace legislation is discernible (details below), but the details are not. News reports suggest that, despite persisting, material...more
We didn’t take ten weeks off because there was nothing to talk about. Rather, we concluded around Labor Day that anything useful to be said about ACA compliance, pre-election, would be interpreted as political advocacy, so...more
If your EIN will have 250 or more full-time employees in 2016 (counting each person who was full-time in any month) you’ll need next year to file your 2016 ACA Information Returns – Forms 1094-B and 1095-B or Forms 1094-C and...more
In the ACA realm, change is the only constant, so don’t take this to the bank. We’re telling you what we see for the first time, on a first reading of the draft 2016 Forms and Instructions that the IRS has released since...more
In Central United Life Ins. Co. v. Burwell, D.C. Cir. No. 15-5310 (July 1, 2016), a D.C. Circuit panel affirmed, 3-0, a trial court injunction barring enforcement of the 2014 HHS regulation permitting individual...more
Jed, employed by Drysdale LLC, a janitorial contractor, recently began working nights at the National Bank of Commerce, supervised by the Bank’s Chief of Security. Jed’s family had health insurance until his wife lost her...more
All of us of a certain age remember the Bugs Bunny cartoon in which Bugs and Daffy confused dimwit Elmer Fudd as to the current hunting season – i.e., wabbit (Bugs) or duck (Daffy) – ending with the proclamation of baseball...more
You know the drill. A manufacturer advertises a new drug, warning, of course, that some users may suffer serious side effects. A year or two later, lawyers counter-advertise for new clients with those conditions who took...more
Ten days before the deadline for electronic filing of 2015 Forms 1094-C and 1095-C, many employers are discovering that they contracted for less than all the needed services. Here’s what we’re seeing all too...more
A U.S. District Judge has ruled that HHS unlawfully has spent billions of dollars to reimburse insurers for cost-sharing reductions granted to individuals who bought health insurance through an ACA Exchange such as...more