On December 20, President Trump signed the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020 (the “Act”), a year-end spending bill that includes key provisions that will affect employer-sponsored benefit plans. This legal alert...more
In a rare display of bipartisanship, after intense last minute negotiations between congressional leadership and the Executive Branch, President Donald Trump signed into law legislation passed last week by Congress to...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Although it is not law yet, according to the must-pass spending legislation passed by both the House and Senate, it looks like the infamous Cadillac Tax and the Annual Fee on Health Insurance Providers (HIP...more
Congress and the Administration have been busy recently, enacting not only the "Tax Cuts and Jobs Act" or "TCJA" on December 22, 2017, but also a Continuing Resolution on January 23, 2018, and the Bipartisan Budget Act of...more
As 2017 comes to an end, we are pleased to present our traditional End of Year Plan Sponsor “To Do” Lists. This year, we are presenting our “To Do” Lists in four separate Employee Benefits Updates. This Part 1 will cover...more
The momentary lull in congressional activity on health care provides an opportune time for an update on the efforts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA)....more
The chart below compares key provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the American Health Care Act (AHCA) and the Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA). This chart is current as of July 13, 2017, and as of that date,...more
The U.S. Senate Republicans on July 13, 2017, released an updated discussion draft of the Better Care Reconciliation Act of 2017 (BCRA), its bill to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA). As we have outlined in a...more
On June 22, 2017, the Senate released its much anticipated health care reform legislation – the Better Care Reconciliation Act (“BCRA”) (linked to amended version released June 26, 2017). In many respects the BCRA is similar...more
U.S. Senate Republicans on June 22, 2017, released a discussion draft of the Better Care Reconciliation Act of 2017 (BCRA), its bill to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The BCRA follows on the heels of the...more
U.S. Senate Republicans on June 22, 2017, unveiled a "discussion draft" of their healthcare plan, the Better Care Reconciliation Act. This memorandum provides highlights of key provisions. The Congressional Budget Office...more
ABSTRACT - Although the American Health Care Act, as passed by the U.S. House of Representatives, mainly affects the individual and small group health insurance markets, it has implications for large employers. The repeal of...more
Last week, the House took the first step to repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act (ACA) by passing a bill titled “The American Health Care Act” (AHCA). On May 4, 2017, after numerous fits and starts over the past...more
On May 4, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the American Health Care Act (AHCA) by a slight majority (217-213). As we previously wrote, AHCA...more
Republicans hoped to mark the seventh anniversary of the Affordable Care Act's (ACA) enactment by passing legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives to dismantle it. Instead, facing the failure of a bill on the House...more
On March 6, 2017, after years of promising, GOP lawmakers in the House of Representatives introduced the “American Health Care Act” (AHCA), the first concrete legislative proposal detailing the initial provisions designed to...more
As reported in our January 23, 2017 Clients & Friends Memorandum entitled “Status of the Affordable Care Act Repeal Efforts,” on January 12 and 13, 2017, the Republican-controlled Congress took the first step toward repealing...more
On January 13th, Congress passed the Fiscal Year 2017 Budget Resolution (S. Con. Res. 3) which included reconciliation instructions for the House Committees on Energy and Commerce and Ways and Means and the Senate Committees...more
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released its cost estimate of the American Health Care Act (AHCA) as reported by the Committees on Ways and Means and Energy and Commerce. CBO estimates that AHCA would reduce federal...more
The U. S. House of Representatives (the House) proposed two bills to “repeal and replace Obamacare” last week, and while many popular consumer protections under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) look to be...more
On March 8, 2017, the two House Committees responsible for healthcare policy related to the Affordable Care Act (ACA) held marathon-like deliberations to mark-up their respective portions of the Republicansponsored health...more
On March 6, 2017, the House of Representatives’ Ways and Means Committee and Energy and Commerce Committee released budget reconciliation recommendations that will, after mark-up beginning on March 8th, form the American...more
Taxpayers may no longer need to be concerned with the 3.8% Net Investment Income Tax, among other taxes established under the Affordable Care Act ("ACA"). On March 6, 2017, the House Ways and Means Republicans unveiled the...more
The House Ways and Means and Energy and Commerce Committees have released, in two parts, budget reconciliation legislation, the first steps of Congress' proposal to "repeal and replace" the Affordable Care Act. Reconciliation...more
During my career as a health lawyer, I have presented both sides of an issue to clients. When the Affordable Care Act was enacted in March 2010, I spoke to various audiences explaining the provisions and impact on their...more