Last month, the IRS issued guidance regarding whether employer provided group health plan coverage is affordable under the ACA. Interestingly for employers, the guidance increased the threshold percentage from 9.5% to 9.56% for the purpose of determining whether an employer offers affordable coverage to an ...
Lately we have seen growing interest from clients looking for legal assistance with de-risking their pension plans, whether such plans are frozen or continue to accrue benefits as active plans. Pension liabilities may significantly impact corporate balance sheets, so CFOs are interested in any alternatives available to the ...
While drinking my coffee this morning, I came across an article that states that American opinion of the ACA has hit an all-time low with 53% of Americans having an unfavorable view of the ACA. To be honest, at first I was surprised that the percentage was so low based on my every day dealings with explaining the law to clients and ...
HIPAA requires that any breach of unsecured PHI in violation of the privacy rule must be reported to the affected individuals and to HHS. When the breach affects 500 or more individuals, the notice to HHS must be made within 60 days following the breach. HHS maintains a list of reported breaches affecting 500 or more individuals ...
Yesterday, two federal appeals courts issued rulings on cases involving whether subsidies on the exchanges can be given to individuals who are enrolled in a plan on a federally run exchange. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia struck down an IRS ruling authorizing subsidy payments to individuals enrolled in plans ...
One of the new fees introduced by the ACA is the PCORI fee. The PCORI fee is used to fund the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute and is payable by all group health plans. The fee is due to the IRS no later than July 31st, regardless of your group health plan’s plan year, and is payable on IRS Form 720. The fee for plan years ...
Shortly after the proposed regulations were issued, we published an article on the pay or play regulations. We have updated the article for the final regulations. This article is a good refresher on the basics of the pay or play mandates. It can also be a great tool if you need to explain the mandates to others (e.g., the CEO wants to ...
I have found that almost all HR or benefit professionals that assist with their company’s 401(k) or pension plan know that the retirement plan needs a summary plan description or SPD. Surprisingly, many of those same individuals don’t realize that their welfare plans, including their medical plan, also are required to have ...
Effective for the 2014 plan year, no group health plan can make an individual who is otherwise eligible to enroll wait longer than 90 days to enroll in the plan. This rule applies to all group health plans regardless of size and wasn’t delayed with the employer mandate. The rule doesn’t require employers to provide coverage ...