HHS Specifies End of PCIP Coverage as “Exceptional Circumstance” For Exchange Special Enrollment
On April 24, 2014, CMS flexed its regulatory muscle by issuing a notice allowing participants in the Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Program (PCIP) until June 30, 2014 to enroll in a qualified health plan offered through the Exchange, also known as the Health Insurance Marketplace. Introduced as part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act […]
To Be, or Not To Be (Compatible With an HSA When Enrolled in a Health FSA), That Is The Question
For some, it is a question as old as, well, a few months at least since the IRS sanctioned carryovers in health FSAs. On Friday March 28th, the IRS provided some answers. In the form of a Memo from the Office of the Chief Counsel dated February 24, 2014, the IRS provided some guidance on […]
PPACA’s Employer Mandate: Top 6 Play or Pay Traps to Avoid
It is no secret that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) requires many employers to provide health insurance coverage to full-time employees, or pay a tax penalty. Employers subject to “Play or Pay” let out a collective sigh of relief when the final regulations, issued in February 2014, provided some additional transition relief in […]
MLR Rebate Checks May be a Little Smaller in the Summer 2015
Many news outlets are reporting on the break the administration plans to give to insurers. (See the Kaiser report here.) The break is expected to come in the form of an adjustment to the MLR calculations. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires insurance carriers to maintain a certain medical loss ratio (MLR). The MLR requires carriers […]
Obama Administration Extends “Keep Your Plan” Health Insurance Transition Policy for Two More Years
On March 5, 2014, after several days of speculation, the Obama Administration announced a two year extension of a policy designed to allow individuals and small employers to extend plans slated to be canceled due to noncompliance with certain Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) requirements. A one year reprieve for canceled plans was […]
North Carolina News
To Be, or Not To Be (Compatible With an HSA When Enrolled in a Health FSA), That Is The Question
For some, it is a question as old as, well, a few months at least since the IRS sanctioned carryovers in health FSAs. On Friday March 28th, the IRS provided some answers. In the form of a Memo from the Office of the Chief Counsel dated February 24, 2014, the IRS provided some guidance on […]
Affordable Care Act News
Employer Mandate Delay – Webinar Recording
Did you miss the live webinar we held on the delay of the Employer Mandate? Listen in on this recorded presentation where we talk about the new Final Regulations given on February 10, 2014. Here we discuss the new Transition Relief for employers of certain sizes and those with non calendar year plans, show the special […]
Let’s dig in: Join us tomorrow for a webinar on the Employer Mandate final regulations!
Last week, the IRS and Treasury published the final regulations on the employer shared responsibility provision, also known as the employer mandate or Play or Pay, of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). Since publication, Katharine Marshall and I have spent a significant amount of time combing through the regulations to understand what has […]
The Other Shoe has (Finally) Dropped: Treasury Issues Final Regulations, Announces Another Delay of PPACA’s Employer Mandate
After more than a year of anticipation, on Monday, February 10, 2014, the US Treasury Department issued final regulations and announced yet another delay of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act’s Employer Shared Responsibility provision, which requires employers with more than 50 employees to offer health insurance coverage to full-time workers or pay a […]
Attention Employers! DOL Publishes Notice of Coverage Options with Updated Expiration Date
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has very quietly published a Notice of Coverage Options with an updated expiration date on its website. The new copy of the notice contains an expiration date of January 31, 2017, but it does not appear that the DOL has changed the substance of the notice. All employers subject to […]
IRS Publishes New Proposed Regulations on the Individual Mandate and Minimum Essential Coverage
The IRS and Treasury have published a new Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and Notice of Hearing providing additional clarifications on the Individual Mandate and Minimum Essential Coverage requirements under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). This NPRM provides a number of clarifications and limited exemptions from the individual mandate in 2014 for individuals enrolled […]
