Agencies Prohibit All Employer Reimbursement of Individual Premiums Due to the rising costs of health coverage, employers have shown interest in helping employees pay for individual health insurance policies instead of offering employer-sponsored plans. In response, on Nov. 6, 2014, … Continue reading →

Agencies Issue Final Rule Expanding the Definition of Excepted Benefits On Sept. 26, 2014, the Departments of Labor (DOL), Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Treasury issued final regulations expanding one category of excepted benefits. Excepted benefits are certain … Continue reading →

Communicating With Employees During Open Enrollment Open enrollment can be a hectic time for both employers and employees. Between budgeting and anticipating needs, both sides can become overwhelmed when choosing a benefits package that balances cost and value. Amidst the … Continue reading →

IRS Releases Draft Forms for Health Coverage Reporting On July 24, 2014, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released draft forms for employer reporting of health coverage. These draft forms are intended to prepare stakeholders (such as employers) for new reporting … Continue reading →

Supreme Court Changes Rules on Contraceptive Mandate Under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), non-grandfathered health plans are required to provide certain preventive care services for women, including contraceptives, without charging a copayment, deductible or coinsurance. Under the guidelines, plans must … Continue reading →

Penalties for Pre-tax Contributions to Employee Individual Health Premiums On May 13, 2014, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued FAQs addressing the consequences for employers that provide employer payment plans. The IRS clarified that these arrangements do not comply with … Continue reading →

On June 30, 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its ruling in two related cases challenging the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) contraceptive coverage mandate. In these cases, three closely held for-profit corporations—Hobby Lobby Stores, Mardel and Conestoga Wood Specialties—argued that … Continue reading →

COBRA and Exchange Rules Clarified The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) requires covered employers to provide employees and dependents who lose group health benefits with an opportunity to continue their coverage. Individuals who are eligible for health coverage under … Continue reading →

Deductible Limits Repealed for Health Plans in Small Group Market The Protecting Access to Medicare Act of 2014 eliminated the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) annual deductible limit for health plans in the small group market. This change is retroactively effective … Continue reading →

Employer Mandate Delayed for Medium-sized Employers A major provision of the Affordable Care Act was delayed in February, when the U.S. Treasury Department announced that pay or play rules will not take effect for some medium-sized employers until 2016. Under … Continue reading →