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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Although the employer mandate penalties of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) have been delayed until 2015, many other pieces of the ACA take effect this year, in 2014. For example, the prohibition on pre-existing condition exclusions, the out-of-pocket limits, and the prohibition on annual or lifetime limits for essential health benefits are all effective for […]
With all that is going on with the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and whether and to what extent employers have to offer insurance to their employees, many employers may not be paying much attention to how their Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) fit within the ACA. Ignorance is bliss, for now. However, employers should begin to […]
Limited Wraparound Coverage is an interesting new concept brought mainstream by the Departments in proposed rules that were published just before the New Year. In the few weeks since, lawyers and consultants have weighed in with summaries of the proposed rules. The question remains, however, just who is this excepted benefit designed to benefit? On […]
Most employers by now are familiar with the Affordable Care Act requirement that if health insurance is offered to employees and their dependents, the dependent eligibility must extend up to age 26. What happens if those same young adults who are eligible for their parents’ employer-sponsored plans want to purchase their own coverage through the […]
Last week, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) announced a one year delay to the SHOP Exchange (or Marketplace). The SHOP (Small Business Health Options Program), originally scheduled to go live on October 1, 2013 with the individual marketplace, was previously pushed back to November 1. The first delay to […]
The federally-facilitated Marketplace (Exchange) went live on October 1, 2013 and has been plagued with difficulties ever since. In recognition of this fact, the Obama administration has given individuals looking to find insurance through the Marketplace a little more time to enroll in coverage that will be effective on January 1, 2014. Originally, someone looking […]
Officials from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced late Wednesday that they are working on official guidance that will allow individuals additional time to get health insurance coverage before incurring a penalty. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires nearly all individuals, beginning on January 1, 2014, to maintain health insurance coverage or pay a […]
