Recent guidance issued by the trilogy of Affordable Care Act (ACA) compliance and enforcement -Departments of Labor/Treasury/Health Human Services; could have a major impact on many of the Consumer Driven Health Plans (CDHPs) currently in force, starting in 2016. In short, the recently published guidance (released in the form of an FAQ) indicates that the annually published ACA out of pocket maximums affect so called aggregate family deductibles that are a part of many CDHPs. CDHPs that utilize embedded family deductibles and grandfathered plans would not be impacted by the change. Here’s what all of this means…
2016 is shaping up to be yet another impactful Affordable Care Act (ACA) year, particularly for employers with 51-100 employees (full and part-time). The two year reprieve from the ACA’s employer mandate/shared responsibility for such employers ends beginning in 2016. But perhaps more importantly, and having a potentially greater impact, is the redefinition of whatLEARN MORE
2016 is shaping up to be yet another impactful Affordable Care Act (ACA) year, particularly for employers with 51-100 employees (full and part-time). The two year reprieve from the ACA’s employer mandate/share responsibility for such employers ends beginning in 2016. But perhaps more importantly, and having a potentially greater impact, is the redefinition of what constitutes a so called SMALL EMPLOYER. Plans that begin or renew on or after 1/1/2016 that are: (i) fully insured; (ii) non-grandmothered*; and (iii) have 1-100 employees, will be required to comply with certain ACA regulations heretofore applicable only to fully insured groups with fewer than 51 employees. Let’s take a look at the impact of this redefinition…
Many in the health insurance and employee benefits space are claiming to have found the next new, innovative and sure fire way to reduce health insurance costs. Actually its an old idea, originally deployed in the retirement/pension area of the overall employee benefits palette, and fairly recently resurrected for use in employer provided health insurance. The next “silver bullet”?
DEFINED CONTRIBUTION
(Remember 401(k)s gradual replacement of many defined benefit retirement pension plans in the eighties?)
Next week (March 2, 2015), the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) will take up a very important case – King versus Burwell. All politics and rhetoric aside, this case has the potential to virtually upend the Affordable Care Act (ACA), and stakeholders should be informed as to its implications. At the core of the case is whether or not the federal government has the authority to issue subsidies (or tax credits) to otherwise eligible individuals that reside in a state that does not have a “state based health insurance exchange”
As we approach the 5th anniversary of the signing of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) into law, compliance and planning have become more important than ever. Listed below are ACA provisions that have particular relevance this year, and deserve attention and planning… 1) The Individual Mandate went into effect in 2014, with a penalty of $95 or 1% of income (the greater of the two) for non-compliance. As citizens prepare/file their tax returns in early 2015, they will notice new questions relating to health…
Sir Isaac Newton’s Third Law of Motion taught us that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. As we near the end of the fourth full year of the [partial] roll out of The Affordable Care Act /Obamacare, it has become increasingly more challenging for people to differentiate action from the equal and opposite reaction. Put another way, some of the things we’re experiencing, required by the ACA, are directly attributable to the law itself (call these actions). And then there are things we’re seeing that are the result of the many requirements, mandates, fees/taxes, expansions associated with the ACA (call these equal and opposite reactions). This will all make more sense when you see the chart at the end of this article.
Self funded health plans face a rapidly approaching compliance deadline of January 15, 2015 relative to the Affordable Care Acts so called “transitional reinsurance fee”. A previous post addressed the various reinsurance (or bailout) programs devised in the ACA (click – http://sstevenshealthcare.blogspot.com/2014/01/acas-insurance-company-bailouts.html).
These programs are sometimes referred to as the “Three R’s”, which are: Reinsurance Program; Risk Corridor; and Risk Adjustment.
The first of these reinsurance/bailout programs – the [temporary] reinsurance program…
As the old saying goes, “the devil is in the details”, and the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has its fair share of DETAILS. Among the rapidly approaching compliance deadlines for many employers is requesting/obtaining a ten-digit Health Plan Identifier or HPID. While ALL employers offering health insurance plans must comply with this requirement, the due date for obtaining the ID, along with determining who is responsible for obtaining it varies based on a couple of factors. Here’s an overview of the whole HPID matter…
A previous post informed about an upcoming (voluntary in 2015; mandatory in 2016) Affordable Care Act (ACA) compliance requirement requiring employers (small and large) and health insurers to report on health insurance coverage offered to employees.
Recently the IRS released draft versions of various forms that employers will need to disclose detailed information to both their employees and the IRS. The purpose of the reporting is to assist the federal government in enforcing the ACAs individual mandate, employer mandate, and premium subsidy provisions.
