Most employers subject to the Affordable Care Act’s employer mandate have focused on identifying full-time employees and ensuring they receive offers of adequate coverage. But the vast majority of employers are not prepared to meet — and some remain simply unaware of — the employer mandate’s complex reporting obligations. Whether your company has already reached […]
Category: News
DOL updates FMLA definition of ‘spouse’
Workers in legal, same-sex marriages – no matter what state they live in – will now have the same rights as those in opposite-sex marriages to federal job-protected leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Department of Labor announced this week. The move updates the FMLA definition of the term “spouse” so that […]
Marriage ruling streamlines benefits administration
Friday’s landmark ruling on gay marriage could pose both challenges and benefits to employers, as the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision irons out the patchwork system of laws across the country, but brings up new questions on current domestic partnership policies. In a 5-4 ruling, the court determined that states must issue marriage certificates to same-sex […]
Employers will maintain ‘business as usual’ post SCOTUS decision
The time of “what-ifs” for employers ended Thursday as the U.S. Supreme Court issued its ruling upholding the state subsidies challenged in King v. Burwell, and employers should maintain business as usual going forward, according to most industry observers. The court ruled 6-3 that contested language in the Affordable Care Act allows the administration to […]
SCOTUS upholds subsidies, industry shifts attention to other ACA fixes
The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that subsidies used to purchase health insurance on the federally facilitated marketplace are legal. The 6-3 decision in King v. Burwell means that tax credits continue to be valid in the 34 FFM states. Now, it’s time to shift the conversation about the Affordable Care Act to focus on substance, Department of […]
Treasury releases regulations for multiemployer pension plans
The U.S. Department of Treasury today released proposed and temporary regulations in support of the implementation of the Kline-Miller Multiemployer Pension Reform Act of 2014. The controversial law, passed as part of the government’s omnibus spending bill in the waning hours of the last Congress, established a new process for the most critically underfunded multiemployer […]
PPACA subsidies to continue after court ruling, senators say
(Bloomberg) — Several Republican senators said they would support legislation to ensure Americans don’t lose health insurance subsidies if the Supreme Court rules that the funds are no longer available in more than half the United States. Republican senators who attended a closed-door meeting on Wednesday, intended to discuss a legislative response to the upcoming […]
Wellness programs: A new layer of compliance
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has proposed rules addressing the extent to which employers may offer incentives to promote participation in wellness programs without violating the Americans with Disabilities Act. The ADA Proposed Rules apply if a wellness program includes disability-related inquiries or medical examinations, including inquiries or examinations that are part of a health […]
8 public exchange states see ‘reassuring’ premium increases
In the eight states that have announced their 2016 proposed rates for purchasing coverage on the public health care exchanges, the average increase for a silver plan is 5.8%. The numbers vary greatly by state, from a 12% increase in Oregon to a 5.3% decrease in Michigan, according to an analysis by health advisory company […]
Small businesses remain in ACA delay limbo
Small-size employers with between 51 and 100 employees currently in large-business group health plans will have to transition to small-business group plans upon their renewal on or after Jan. 1, 2016. “Small businesses were facing high costs of health insurance, less competition and fewer options. We had more and more small business dropping out of […]