The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has postponed to 11:59 pm on December 5, 2014, the deadline for health insurance issuers and self funded plans to submit their annual enrollment count for the transitional reinsurance program. The deadline was otherwise November 15, 2014. The payment deadlines of January 15, 2015 and
Understanding Employee Benefits and key developments in the employee benefits field and items of interest to our clients. MORE
Health Care Reform
Pruitt v. Burwell Ruling Unlikely to have Major Impact on Employers in Near Term
By Sam Butler & Tom Dowling on
On Tuesday, September 30, federal Judge Ronald White of the Eastern District of Oklahoma ruled in Pruitt v. Burwell that the plain text of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“PPACA”) does not allow for the provision of subsidies to individuals purchasing health coverage through a federally-facilitated exchange. The court ruled that the Internal…
Can a Failure to Hire Violate ERISA?
By Stinson LLP on
A recent decision of the federal district court for the southern district of Ohio raises interesting questions under Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) that might also affect employer liability under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The case involved a challenge by a former employee who was originally hired as a part-time pharmacist.…
ACA Pay or Play: Is Your Dependent Coverage Compliant?
By Stinson LLP on
Now that the IRS has issued final regulations under Section 4980H, the so-called “pay or play” provision of the Affordable Care Act, employers are deciding how to determine whether employees are full-time (30 hours or more a week on average), whether the coverage the employer offers is affordable (generally no more than 9½% of the …
Maintaining Poor COBRA Procedures Can be Expensive – Part 2
By Stinson LLP on
Back in 2013 I blogged about an employer who was ordered to pay a COBRA penalty of $1,852,500 to a class of employees to whom timely COBRA notices had not been sent. That amount was equal to $2,500 per affected participant. I mentioned that the class would also be entitled to attorneys’ fees yet to …
MARCH 2014 – IRS Issues Final “Pay or Play” Regulations
By Stinson LLP on
On February 12, 2014, the Treasury Department issued final regulations for the employer shared responsibility (“pay or play”) requirement under the Affordable Care Act (proposed regulations were issued in December of 2012). The regulations provide a large number of clarifications and transition relief – this article highlights several important transition relief provisions that employers should …
DOL Has Helpful ERISA Self-Compliance Tool
By Stinson LLP on
The Department of Labor recently issued the Form M-1, an annual report that must be filed by Multiple Employer Welfare Arrangements (MEWAs). In general, a MEWA is an arrangement that offers health or other welfare benefits to employees of more than one employer. Employers that are part of a controlled group of businesses are …
More About HRAs and Some About EAPs
By Stinson LLP on
I blogged recently about IRS and Department of Labor (DOL) guidance restricting the ability of employers to subsidize individual health insurance premiums for their employees after December 31, 2013. That IRS and DOL guidance also addressed a few other issues. The guidance provides that HRA amounts credited to an employee can be used to determine …
No More Pre-Tax Premiums for Individual Insurance Policies?
By Stinson LLP on
Over the years we have seen some employers, particularly small employers, choose to provide health coverage to their employees by paying all or part of the premium for individual insurance policies that the employees have obtained. Under an old IRS revenue ruling, Rev. Rul. 61-146, that type of premium subsidy could be provided on a …
DOL (Finally) Issues Model Exchange Notice
By Stinson LLP on
On May 8, 2013, the Department of Labor (DOL) issued long-awaited temporary guidance and a model notice to be provided to employees about upcoming coverage options through the health care exchange, known as the Marketplace, established as a part of the health care reform legislation. This notice was originally supposed to be provided to employees …