Health Care Reform Update: Planning Now for Significant 2014 Deadlines
The Affordable Care Act (the “ACA”) makes sweeping changes to the current health insurance landscape. Though some of these changes are already in force, the most significant provisions of the ACA become effective on January 1, 2014. This includes the “pay or play mandate,” the individual coverage mandate, and certain significant taxes and fees that are imposed on employers.
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Employer Excise Taxes Under Health Care Reform – Contraceptive Coverage Mandate, New Proposed Regulations and HHS Due Process and Privacy Report Deadline Was 1/1/13
As you may have heard, the U.S Supreme Court denied Hobby Lobby an injunction against the PPACA contraceptive coverage mandate. Employers who maintain health care plans are required to pay excise taxes for failure to comply with a particular aspect of the law, regardless of whether coverage is affordable.
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Health Care Reform Survives Supreme Court Scrutiny – But Not Entirely Intact
Health care reform just got a clean bill of health from the United States Supreme Court. The Court today ruled on the constitutionality of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“PPACA”), and generally upheld the legislation in a 5-4 decision written by Chief Justice John G. Roberts.
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Supreme Court Wraps Up Oral Arguments On Health Care Reform – Day Three
On Wednesday, March 28, the Supreme Court wrapped up three days of oral arguments related to the constitutionality of certain portions of the health care reform legislation.
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Health Care Reform Reaches The Supreme Court – Two Days Down, One to Go
The Supreme Court on Tuesday, March 27 heard oral arguments on the most pivotal issue concerning the implementation of the health care reform legislation. The issue before the Court on Tuesday concerned the constitutionality of the individual mandate that is at the heart of the recent legislation (i.e., the obligation imposed on all covered individuals, effective in 2014, to either purchase health care coverage or pay a penalty for refusing to do so).
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Implementing $2,500 FSA Limits for Non-Calendar Year Plans – Start Now
Beginning January 1, 2013, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“PPACA”) requires plan sponsors to limit pre-tax health flexible spending account (“FSA”) contributions to no more than $2,500 per calendar year. There are currently no limits on health FSA contributions. This change is anticipated to be a revenue-raiser, because the new limit is lower than most existing plan-imposed pre-tax FSA contribution limits, and affected employees will pay taxes on more of their salary.
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The Early Retiree Reinsurance Program — Go Forth and Spend
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“PPACA”) contained a provision that established the Early Retiree Reinsurance Program (“ERRP”), the goal of which was to encourage plan sponsors to retain health care coverage for retirees through at least 2013. The ERRP was designed to provide reimbursement to eligible sponsors of employment-based plans for a portion …
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Health care compliance Form 8928 excise tax self-reporting requirements: Have you done your due diligence for 2011 and determined the due date for your return, if required?
While conducting a health care reform webinar recently, we received questions that suggested the need to remind employers sponsoring group health care plans about their self-reporting obligations, and significant potential exposure to excise taxes.
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Supreme Court Gets Into The Act On Health Care Reform
The table now is set for the last chapter in our long (and, to many, excruciating) debate over the constitutionality of the health care reform legislation enacted in 2010. At a conference last Thursday, November 10, the members of the United States Supreme Court voted to consider an appeal of one of the lower court decisions dealing with the constitutionality of the landmark legislation.
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Health Care Shared Responsibility’s Missing Link – Reconciliation With The Employer
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) shared responsibility provisions require speculation about whether health care coverage will be affordable for an individual. Whether affordable coverage was available, whether an individual was eligible for a premium credit, and whether an employer was subject to penalties, cannot be determined until after the individual files a personal tax return.
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