On March 11, 2021, President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) into law. The $1.9 trillion stimulus law includes several welfare and fringe benefit plan provisions. The information outlined below is subject to clarification as the government agencies issue guidance to implement ARPA.
Price transparency in health care has been a topic of interest for several years. The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 (the CAA) continued this trend by adding numerous provisions that impact cost transparency for all group health plans. Some of these provisions are found in the No Surprises Act while others are found in a separate title […]
The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 includes the No Surprises Act (the Act), which is intended to protect patients from the financial impact of unexpected balance billing in cases where they have little or no control over who provides their care. Instead, the Act shifts responsibility for these expenses to providers and payers (insurers and self-insured health […]
On December 27th, President Trump signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 (the Act) into law. The Act funds the federal government for the remainder of the fiscal year and provides additional COVID relief. This Benefit Minute provides an overview of benefit and payroll provisions in the Act.
The table below details the 2021 and 2020 limitations for qualified plans and other benefit related items.
On November 10, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the ongoing case of Texas v. California. The litigation centers on whether the individual mandate imposed by the Affordable Care Act (ACA) remains constitutional after elimination of the related tax penalty, and what impact finding it unconstitutional would have on the remainder of the ACA.
Employers that sponsor welfare benefit plans must provide a wide range of notices and disclosures to employees and plan participants. These notices are required by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). This Benefit Minute […]
On October 2, 2020, the IRS issued Notice 2020-76 which provides ACA reporting relief similar to what has been granted in prior years. There are strong indications in the Notice that this will be the last year the relief is given. The IRS had previously requested comments on the relief for furnishing the forms to […]
As the end of 2020 approaches, it is time to start preparing for ACA reporting, including reporting to states that are enforcing health insurance individual mandates.