As companies complete their Section 6055 and 6056 reporting under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), now it’s time to be on the lookout for notices regarding ACA penalties.
Articles Discussing Health Care Reform.
DOL Issues Guidance on Intersection of Affordable Care Act and Federal Prevailing Wage Laws
Long-awaited guidance to governmental agencies on how the Affordable Care Act’s provisions regarding employer shared responsibility interact with the fringe benefit requirements of the McNamara-O’Hara Service Contract Act (SCA), Davis-Bacon Act (DBA) and the Davis-Bacon Related Acts (DBRA) (together DBA/DBRA) finally has been issued by the Wage and Hour Division of the Department of Labor in an All Agency Memorandum 220 (AAM).
Supreme Court Looks for ACA Contraceptive Coverage Compromise for Religious Nonprofits
Less than one week after hearing oral arguments on seven consolidated cases in which non-profit organizations challenged the opt-out process for religious organizations opposing the Affordable Care Act’s contraceptive coverage mandate, the United States Supreme Court took the unusual action of ordering the lawyers on both sides to brief additional issues.
Extension of ACA 2015 Reporting Deadlines Provides Welcome Relief for Employers
The Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) imposes various reporting requirements on insurers, self-insuring employers, and other providers of “minimum essential coverage” and imposes penalties on coverage providers that do not comply. The IRS recently issued Notice 2016-4, which grants extensions of certain important reporting deadlines.1 These deadline extensions are intended to ease the transition under ACA so that employers and others have additional time to adapt and implement systems and procedures to gather, analyze and report the relevant information. These extensions apply to the requirements both to furnish information to individuals and to file information with the IRS.
ACA Treatment of Fringe Benefits Provided Under Federal Contracts
Last month the IRS issued Notice 2015-87, providing further guidance for applicable large employers on the employer shared responsibility provisions of Code § 4980H. For federal contractors required to provide a certain amount of health and welfare fringe benefits to employees, the Notice brought some welcome relief, at least for the time being.
Health Coverage Made Available ONLY to Wellness Program Participants, OK under ADA “Safe Harbor” Says District Court
With final ADA and GINA wellness program regulations expected this year from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), 2016 looks to be an important year for regulation of these programs.
ACA Outlook: What Will 2016 Hold for the Affordable Care Act and Employers?
For many employers, 2016 will bring new requirements and challenges with respect to compliance with the Affordable Care Act (ACA). However, their burden in years beyond 2016 may very likely diminish because of recent changes Congress made to the sweeping health care law. While this year the U.S. Supreme Court once again saved the fate of the ACA in the King v. Burwell decision, legislation repealing or delaying some of the law’s most problematic provisions potentially reshapes the scope and impact of the law for both employers and employees.
ACA Reporting Delayed
On Monday, December 28, 2015, the Internal Revenue Service announced in Notice 2016-4 that employers will have additional time to file annual reports required under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“ACA”). The ACA requires certain employers to report minimum essential coverage annually on Forms 1094 and 1095. These forms were originally due to employees on February 1, 2016 and employers had until March 31, 2016 to file the forms electronically with the IRS (February 29, 2016 for non-electronic filers). However, Notice 2016-4 extends both of those deadlines for all employers required to file Forms 1094 and 1095.
A Holiday Gift to Applicable Large Employers – 2015 ACA Reporting is Delayed
In Notice 2016-4, the IRS has extended the due dates for certain 2015 Affordable Care Act information reporting requirements.
ERISA Claims Procedures For Disability Benefits To Get An ACA Make Over
The Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) of the Federal Department of Labor plans to publish on November 18, 2015, new claims procedures for adjudicating disability benefits designed to enhance existing procedures for those benefits under Section 503 of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). EBSA’s goal is to apply to disability benefits many of the new procedural protections and safeguards that have been applied to group health plans under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Interested parties may submit comments to these proposed regulations no later than 60 days after publication.
Supreme Court to Review Birth Control Mandates Under Affordable Care Act Once More
For the third time in four years, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear a challenge to a portion of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), President Obama’s signature health reform law passed in 2010. On November 6, 2015, the Supreme Court issued a writ of certiorari in seven cases addressing the ACA’s birth control mandates and the rights of religious employers.1
ACA Auto-enrollment Requirement Repealed
Since the enactment of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), larger employers have wondered about an auto-enrollment provision that the ACA added to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Under that provision, employers that are subject to the FLSA and which employed more than 200 full-time employees would have been required to automatically enroll new full-time employees in one of the employer’s health benefits plans (subject to any waiting period authorized by law). Certain notices would have been required giving employees an opportunity to opt out of any coverage in which the employee was automatically enrolled.
The PACE Act – Changes to the Definition of Small Group for Purposes of ACA Market Reforms
Executive Summary: On October 7, 2015, the Protecting Affordable Coverage for Employees Act (“PACE Act”) was enacted, and on October 19, 2015, the Department of Health and Human Services released FAQs providing further guidance on the Act’s application to states. The PACE Act gives states the option of continuing to define “small group” for purposes of the ACA market reforms as those with up to 50 employees instead of mandating the expansion of that definition to those with up to 100 employees as originally required by the ACA. This means that in states that choose to continue to define small group as up to 50 employees, mid-sized employers will be able to avoid the potential increase in premiums that could result from being included in the small group market. Importantly, the PACE Act does not affect definitions of large and small employer for purposes of the employer mandate.
President Obama Signs ACA Change Into Law
While Republican efforts to effectively repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA) through the budget reconciliation process have garnered attention, Congress’s recent passage of a bipartisan bill making targeted changes to the law has received less fanfare. On October 7, 2015, President Obama signed into law the Protecting Affordable Coverage for Employees (PACE) Act, a measure that maintains the current definition of small group health plans. Senator Tim Scott (R-SC) sponsored the Senate version of the bill (S. 1099), with Congressman Brett Guthrie (R-KY) introducing the House version (H.R. 1624). Although narrow in nature, the PACE Act is on the short list of ACA amendments approved by both Congress and the President.
Final Regulations on Contraceptive Coverage under Affordable Care Act – the Religious Exemption
The Departments of Treasury, Labor and Health and Human Services have released Final Regulations providing much-needed guidance with respect to defining a “closely-held corporation.” The Final Regulations, released on July 14, 2015, also provide guidelines for establishing a religious objection for purposes of qualifying for exemption from the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) mandate to provide contraceptive coverage under an employer health plan in light of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc., et al., 134 S. Ct. 2751, 573 U.S. ___ (2014).