Health Reform
New Trade Bill Escalates ACA Reporting Penalties, Resuscitates Health Coverage Tax Credit
The trade bill signed into law this week included provisions steeply increasing the penalties related to employers’ Affordable Care Act (ACA) reporting (e.g., reporting required to be done on Forms 1094-C and 1095-C). The bill also reinstated the trade-related Health...
Submitting Your Own ACA Reporting Forms? The IRS has Homework for You!
The steady drumbeat announcing the coming leviathan of Affordable Care Act-related employer reporting continues to grow louder, even as we wait for the IRS to issue the final forms and instructions that will be used for reporting 2015 information in early 2016. This...
ICYMI: Supreme Court Keeps Subsidies – and the Employer Mandate – Alive
The Supreme Court today concluded that the ACA’s reference to exchanges established by “the State” is ambiguous. Does it mean one of the 50 states? Does it include the federal government’s exchange? The Court applied long-standing rules for resolving or interpreting...
CMS Unable to Verify Legitimacy of Four Months Worth of Subsidy Payments…to the Tune of $12.8 Billion
A blistering report this week by the Department of Health and Human Service’s (HHS) Office of the Inspector General found shockingly poor accountability efforts by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) related to its payment of Affordable Care Act (ACA)...
“Embedded” Out-of-Pocket Limits Might Be Required for 2016 Plan Years
UPDATE: "Embedded" Out-of-Pocket Limits Might Will Be Required for 2016 Plan Years Tri-agency guidance issued May 26, 2015 confirmed that the embedded out-of-pocket limits interpretation explained in the following article applies to non-grandfathered...
CMS Asks Employers to Verify TRF Filings for 2014
An FAQ regarding transitional reinsurance fee (TRF) submissions for 2014 appeared on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) “REGTAP” site on May 12, 2015. (CMS uses REGTAP to provide information on several different programs it administers, including TRF...
Plans Must Cover 18 Separate Birth Control Methods With No Cost-Sharing
New frequently asked questions (FAQs), define the contraceptive coverage that a non-grandfathered group health plan must provide in order to comply with the Affordable Care Act (ACA) mandate to cover certain preventive services without cost-sharing. The FAQs refer to...
Overheard Today on Capitol Hill: Repeal the Cadillac Tax
Congressional Democrats today introduced a bill to repeal the Affordable Care Act’s “Cadillac Tax.” Judging by the number of Congressmen moving to co-sponsor the bill, it appears the Cadillac Tax is as largely disfavored on Capitol Hill—at least in the House of...
April 30 Deadline Set for Correcting Certain TRF Overpayments
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the federal agency that collects the transitional reinsurance fee (TRF) has announced an April 30, 2015 deadline for claiming certain overpayments of that fee with respect to 2014. Specifically, the deadline...
Beware the Lady Killer
February is a month that’s all about the heart. No, not just Valentine’s Day. I’m talking about American Heart Month. Not too long ago it was thought that heart disease was a problem for men. Warnings for men to recognize chest pain and left arm pain helped educate us...
How Employers Can Help Prevent Cancer
What if there was a way to prevent certain cancers? Good news! There is, if you make some straightforward decisions about certain aspects of your life. Specifically, I’m talking about good nutrition, regular exercise, and maintaining a healthy weight. While most...
Employees Receiving ACA Premium Subsidies May File Retaliation Claims on DOL Website
When a full-time employee qualifies for premium assistance to purchase coverage on an exchange his or her employer may incur a penalty under the play or pay mandate (see our Alert). Employers will know when their employees qualify for premium assistance because...
Deadlines and Reminders
Compliance deadlines for health and welfare plans continue to abound as we start 2015. In the listing below, we focus on compliance deadlines during the first half of 2015. Although Jan. 1 has passed, we have also included items having compliance deadlines related to...
The Collision of Progressive Politics and Fiscal Limitations: Vermont Slams the Brakes on its Single-Payer Healthcare Initiative
Posted on behalf of Ed Fensholt, J.D. – Senior Vice President and Director – Lockton Compliance Services Something worth noticing played out in the Green Mountain State last week. Vermont, no stranger to progressive politics, abandoned its single-payer healthcare...
Looking Forward: Health Reform in 2015 – a Webcast
Mark your calendar: the Lockton Benefit Group Compliance Services Practice is hosting a complimentary webcast at 2 p.m. CT on Thursday, January 22, 2015. Employers hoping to stay abreast of the latest health reform developments (and take a look at what lies ahead)...