Congress is currently considering healthcare reform proposals that would eliminate or place a cap on the employer-tax exclusion for health insurance. Eliminating the exclusion would eliminate most of the advantages of employer-sponsored insurance, while capping it would degrade the benefit and serve
Controlled Groups and Affiliated Service Groups: How They Apply to the ACA
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) imposes a penalty on "large" employers that either do not offer "minimum essential" (basic medical) coverage, or who offer coverage that is not affordable (the employee’s cost for single coverage is greater than 9.5 percent of income) or it does
Medicare Part D Notices Are Due by October 14, 2016
Each year, Medicare Part D requires group health plan sponsors to disclose to individuals who are eligible for Medicare Part D and to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) whether the health plan’s prescription drug coverage is creditable. Plan sponsors must provide the annual
Group Health Plan Enrollment Rules
Employers that sponsor group health plans have some different options available to them for designing their plans’ enrollment process. When it comes to enrollment, health plan sponsors should have rules in place regarding: When employees can enroll in the health plan? An initial enrollment
ACA Reporting Changes for 2016
As we draw closer to the end of 2016, it is time for Applicable Large Employers (ALEs) to start preparing for the 6056 Reporting due in 2017. Below is a summary of changes from 2015 to 2016 in which you should be aware. 2015 Reporting 2016 Reporting Determining
IRS/SSA/CMS Data Match Guide on Instructions from CMS
Data Match is a program coordinated by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), and the Social Security Administration (SSA) to identify Medicare beneficiaries who received Medicare benefits with Medicare as the primary payer when Medicare should have
Employer Appeals Of Marketplace Subsidy Notices
Under the ACA, Applicable Large Employers (ALEs) may be subject to employer shared responsibility (or pay or play) penalties if they do not offer affordable, minimum value health coverage to their full-time employees. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will assess these penalties if any full-time
ERISA: A Timeline for Compliance
When you offer retirement and health benefits to your employees, you need to make sure you’re providing the right documents to stay in compliance with the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). ERISA requires that you provide several types of documents to the Department of Labor