Source: https://www.aflac.com/health-care-reform/default.aspx
Timestamp: 2015-10-04 16:57:11
Document Index: 119201016

Matched Legal Cases: ['§18', '§ 6055', '§ 6055', '§ 6056', '§ 6055', '§ 6055', '§ 6056']

Straightforward information and tools to help employees make sense of changes to their benefits. Learn More
Understanding Health Care Reform Find out everything you need to know about health care reform.
Be ready for health care reform. We can help you understand what to do to comply with the Affordable Care Act and plan for what's ahead.
There have been some big changes made to health care, and more are on the way.Click the milestones to explore how the changes might affect you.
HCR15013R 09/03/2015
Availability of small business tax credits
If you offer your workforce health insurance and employ fewer than 25 full-time workers (or 50 part-time workers), your business may be eligible for the Small Business Health Care Tax Credit.
Internal Revenue Service (2013). Small Business Health Care Tax Credit for Small Employers.
Availability of SIMPLE cafeteria plans
SIMPLE cafeteria plans are a new way for small businesses with 100 or fewer employees to save money. These plans allow employees to pay their portion of health insurance premiums and other eligible benefits, such as contributions to flexible spending accounts, with pre-tax dollars. As an employer, you can take advantage of this option to save on the employer portion of FICA, FUTA and workers’ compensation insurance premiums.
Internal Revenue Service (2012), Section 125 Cafeteria Plans. CLICK TO CLOSE
Restriction on reimbursement of OTC medicines
Tax-favored plans, including health flexible spending arrangements (FSAs) and health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs), cannot be used to reimburse over-the-counter medicines.
Internal Revenue Service (2010). IRS Issues Guidance Explaining 2011 Changes to Flexible Spending Arrangements.
Non-grandfathered group health plans are required to offer preventive coverage to women without cost-sharing for plan years beginning on or after Aug. 1, 2012. Certain religious employers are exempt from the requirement to offer contraceptive coverage, and others may qualify for a one-year delay or special accommodation.
Healthcare.gov (2012), Affordable Care Act Rules on Expanding Access to Preventive Services for Women.
Major medical insurers that did not meet the new medical loss ratio (MLR) requirements were required to issue rebates to policyholders by Aug. 1, 2012. In most cases, it is the employer’s responsibility to distribute the participant portion within three months of receiving the rebate. If your plan was due a rebate, you should have received it by now and may need to distribute employee portions. The details on distribution depend on the type of plan offered (e.g., church plan, ERISA, etc.). In the future, any rebate due must be paid by Aug. 1 of each year. View Source
Internal Revenue Service (2012), Medical Loss Ratio (MLR) FAQs.
Major medical insurers began sending all benefits enrollees and applicants a new summary-of-benefits booklet and coverage notice to explain their benefit plans and coverage. If your business has a self-funded plan, you will be required to provide the new summary for annual enrollment periods on or after Sept. 23, 2012, as well as all other enrollments for plan years beginning on or after Jan. 1, 2013.
Federal Register (2012), Summary of Benefits and Coverage and Uniform Glossary.
Starting with plan years ending on or after Oct. 1, 2012, issuers and plan sponsors are required to pay a new fee for each covered beneficiary, with the fee going to the PCORI fund. The funds will help contribute to research that evaluates and compares health outcomes and clinical effectiveness, as well as the risks and benefits of two or more medical treatments and/or services. Since the fee is treated as an excise tax, it is filed through IRS Form 720. The PCORI fee is $1 per covered beneficiary for the first year and is due July 31, 2013, for the first year.
Internal Revenue Service (2013). Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute Fee.
The ACA limits the amount of participant pre-tax dollars that can be used to cover health expenses through flexible spending accounts (FSAs). View Source
All employers that issued at least 250 Form W-2s in 2011 will need to report the value of health care coverage that employees participated in during the 2012 plan year on the employee’s Form W-2. Some items, such as stand-alone dental, vision and health savings account contributions, are excluded from this reporting requirement. Although the value must be reported, it is not taxable for the business or employee. View Source
Internal Revenue Service (2012), Form W-2 Reporting of Employer-Sponsored Health Coverage. CLICK TO CLOSE
Kaiser Family Foundation (2012), Implementation Timeline.
Employers subject to the Fair Labor Standards Act are required to notify employees of the Health Insurance Marketplace and potential eligibility for premium credits. Aflac has created the “Health Care Reform Communications Toolkit” to help businesses comply with this communications requirement. View Source
Department of Labor (2013). Technical Release No. 2013-02: Guidance on the Notice to Employees of Coverage Options under Fair Labor Standards Act §18B and Updated Model Election Notice under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985. CLICK TO CLOSE
During the first three years of insurance market reforms (2014–2016), a temporary reinsurance program for the individual insurance market will be funded by a required contribution from all group major medical plans. The per capita amount is paid for each enrollee by the insurer or the self-funded plan.
Small-business tax credits will expand to 50 percent of a small business’s premium costs for two consecutive years. These credits are available to businesses with average wages between $25,000 and $50,000, that have fewer than 25 full-time workers (or 50 part-time workers), and that offer health insurance through the Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP) Marketplace.
Small-group fully insured plans will have limits on deductibles (does not apply to grandfathered plans).
Shared responsibility payment phase I
Internal Revenue Service (2013). Transition Relief for 2014 Under §§ 6055 (§ 6055 Information Reporting), 6056 (§ 6056 Information Reporting) and 4980H (Employer Shared Responsibility Provisions).Internal Revenue Service (2014). Questions and answers on shared responsibility provisions under the Affordable Care Act.
The Supreme Court ruled on an important issue affecting health insurance in the U.S. The decision upheld a key part of the Affordable Care Act by affirming an eligible individual’s ability to obtain subsidized health insurance through a federal exchange. November 1, 2015
Start of open enrollment for 2016
Open enrollment for individuals and businesses begins for state and federal exchanges for coverage that begins Jan. 1, 2016.
Internal Revenue Service (2014). Questions and answers on shared-responsibility provisions under the Affordable Care Act.
Small-business definition grows from 50 or fewer to 100 or fewer FTEs
Employers with 100 or fewer full-time equivalent employees (FTEs) will be considered a small employer. This means these employers may be eligible to purchase health insurance for employees through the Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP).
Your business will be required to report information regarding the health coverage of your employees, including basic employee data, dates and type of coverage; cost-sharing; and any other information required by the IRS. These requirements apply to coverage offered on or after Jan. 1, 2015, but the first report will not be due until 2016.
Internal Revenue Service (2013). Transition Relief for 2014 Under §§ 6055 (§ 6055 Information Reporting), 6056 (§ 6056 Information Reporting) and 4980H (Employer Shared Responsibility Provisions). CLICK TO CLOSE
A tax will be imposed on insurers and employers with self-funded health plans with annual premiums that exceed $10,200 for individuals and $27,500 for family coverage. The Cadillac tax is 40 percent of the excess of the annual value of a health plan’s cost above the threshold amounts set forth above.
Kaiser Family Foundation (2012), Cadillac Insurance Plans Explained.
Senate bill aims to repeal Cadillac tax – Employee Benefit News
U.S. Sens. Dean Heller (R-Nev.) and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) introduced legislation Thursday seeking to repeal the Affordable Care Act’s excise tax on high-cost group plans. Rep. Joe Courtney (D-Conn.) has introduced similar legislation in the House. Read the Article
A private exchange for brokers who don’t have one – Employee Benefit News
It is not a question of trust, but sometimes employers are looking for more services than a broker can provide. Listen as Gerry Leonard, president of ADP Benefit Services, discusses why brokers are partnering with human capital management companies to acquire technology tools clients want, such as private exchanges.
ACA helped pull uninsured rate down to 10.4% in 2014 – Employee Benefit News
PPACA state exchanges have work to do – BenefitsPro