Articles Discussing Health Care Reform.

Premiums for Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace coverage continue to sky rocket, with the average cost of a benchmark plan in the individual market place rising 20% this year. There is very different news for employer-sponsored plans. According to the nonprofit Kaiser Family Foundation, in 2016 annual family premiums rose on average a modest 3% to $18,142 per year, of which workers paid on average $5,277, just barely outpacing the average increase in workers’ wages (2.5%) and inflation (1.1%).

Last month began with significant momentum but long odds that Senate Republicans would pass legislation repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act (ACA). In the early hours of July 28, GOP efforts came to a screeching halt as a last-ditch “skinny” repeal bill failed, all but ending the seven-year quest to overturn the sweeping health care law.

Five months into President Trump’s term, his administration’s workplace policy is beginning to take shape. From notable developments at the Department of Labor (DOL), to long-awaited nominations to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the administration’s departure from the labor and employment policies of its predecessor – or at least the steps to do so – accelerated in June.

On June 22, 2017, Senate Republicans released a draft of their legislation to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”). After the House narrowly passed its version of ACA overhaul legislation, the American Health Care Act (AHCA), on May 4, 2017, attention shifted to the Senate to craft its own proposal.

Among the many changes recently proposed to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“ACA”), one that has not yet occurred is a repeal of the requirement that certain employers provide break time for nursing mothers.

Executive Summary: The U.S. House of Representatives has passed legislation that would effectively eliminate the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA’s) employer mandate, open the door for simplified employer coverage reporting, provide greater flexibility for HSAs and FSAs, and delay implementation of the “Cadillac Tax.”

Seven years after the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was enacted, the U.S. House of Representatives voted on May 4, 2017, to dismantle the sweeping law and replace key provisions with a dramatically different vision of health care reform. After modifications were made to try to secure the votes of both GOP conservative and moderate factions, the House passed the American Health Care Act (AHCA) (H.R. 1628) by a vote of 217 to 213. No Democrats voted to approve the bill that was touted as “repealing and replacing” President Obama’s signature legislative accomplishment. If enacted, the AHCA would address two of the most vexing provisions for employers by eliminating the “employer mandate” and further delaying the “Cadillac” tax on high-cost employer-sponsored health plans. Enactment of the legislation is by no means certain and faces a rocky road in the Senate.

Disclosing protected health information (PHI) to a business associate without a compliant business associate agreement (BAA) is an improper disclosure under the HIPAA privacy and security regulations. According to the HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR), an error like that can cost a small healthcare provider $31,000.

On April 7, 2017, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) published a report on the “Assessment of Efforts to Implement the Employer Shared Responsibility Provision.” This report1 provides clues to the Affordable Care Act (ACA) enforcement initiatives with regard to the employer mandate.

Republicans hoped to mark the seventh anniversary of the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) enactment by passing legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives to dismantle it. Instead, facing the failure of a bill on the House floor despite President Trump’s lobbying push, GOP leadership pulled the legislation from consideration.

The American Heath Care Act was designed to provide health care reform and to replace former President Obama’s Affordable Care Act (the “ACA”). However, the House of Representatives, under President Trump’s direction, cancelled its vote in late March because of lack of overall support from Republicans to get passage of the bill in the House. Now what?

On February 28, 2017, President Trump delivered his first address to a joint session of Congress, outlining a broad vision of his agenda. The Trump administration is widely expected to chart a dramatically different course on workplace policy from that of the prior administration. Coming less than six weeks after President Trump was sworn into office, the address offered few details on how his administration’s labor and employment policy will unfold.

The House Ways and Means Committee and the Energy and Commerce Committee (the two congressional committees having primary responsibility for health care legislation) released draft legislation for repealing and replacing aspects of the Obama administration’s 2010 health care reform law on March 6, 2017 (the “ACA”).

In the wake of the President’s January 20, 2017 Executive Order directing a reduction in regulatory burdens imposed by the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the IRS has quietly announced that it will continue to process income tax returns lacking confirmation that the taxpayer has maintained ACA-required health coverage.

In proposed regulations published on February 17, 2017, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has suggested several adjustments designed to help stabilize the individual health insurance market – particularly for coverage offered through the health insurance exchanges, often referred to as “Marketplaces.”