On December 23, 2024, President Biden signed into law two important pieces of legislation that aim to ease the administrative and reporting burdens on health plan sponsors and insurance providers under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The Paperwork Burden Reduction Act and the Employer Reporting Improvement Act bring significant changes to the way employers must
Understanding Employee Benefits and key developments in the employee benefits field and items of interest to our clients. MORE
Affordable Care Act
FINAL HRA REGULATIONS CREATE NEW HEALTH COVERAGE OPTIONS FOR EMPLOYERS AND EMPLOYEES
By Nick Bertron on
On June 13, 2019 the Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Labor and Department of the Treasury released final regulations that create new healthcare coverage options for employers and employees. https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2019/06/20/2019-12571/health-reimbursement-arrangements-and-other-account-based-group-health-plans
The new coverage options come in the form of two new types of health reimbursement arrangements (“HRAs”), one which allows employers to…
DOL Issues Final Association Health Plan Rule
By Jeffrey Cairns & Tom Dowling on
On June 19, 2018, the Department of Labor (DOL) released a final rule that offers new options for associations to sponsor health plans for their members. These new options allow more small businesses to come together to create large employer plans free from many of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) mandates applicable to individual and…
EEOC Loses Another Wellness Case, Part 2 – Beware the ACA Penalties
By Stinson LLP on
In my last blog post, I discussed a recent loss by the EEOC in its efforts to limit the ability of employers to require employees to complete health risk assessments (HRAs) or biometric screenings in order to enroll in the employer’s health plan. I said that I would discuss an Affordable Care Act (ACA)…
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.…
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 …
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 Publishes Helpful Self Compliance Tools
By Stinson LLP on
The Department of Labor has published two checklists that plan sponsors can use to test their compliance with group health plan requirements. One checklist addresses the Affordable Care Act (ACA or health care reform) provisions, including a plan’s status as a “grandfathered” plan exempt from some ACA requirements, and such ACA requirements as limitations on …