In IRS Notice 2018-06, the IRS announced a 30-day automatic extension for the furnishing of 2017 IRS Forms 1095-B (Health Coverage) and 1095-C (Employer-Provided Health Insurance Offer and Coverage), from January 31, 2018 to March 2, 2018. This extension was made in response to requests by employers, insurers, and other providers of health insurance
Affordable Care Act
Your Not So Kind (or Welcome) Early Holiday Gift from the IRS: Letter 226j
On more than one occasion since passing the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”), the IRS has given some type of early holiday “gift” to alleviate pending compliance concerns for employers. One of the most significant of these occurred in late December 2015, when the IRS extended the mandated filing periods for Forms 1094/1095, which gave employers…
On-Site Clinics: What Effect on HDHPs and HSAs?
As of October 2017, Health Care Still Uncertain.
We already know the state of health care in the United States continues to whipsaw, as an October 25th ruling demonstrates: a federal district court confirmed that the Trump Administration need not fund the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) subsidies that offset insurance copays and deductibles for some…
Exemption to ACA Contraceptive Mandate Extended to For-Profit Entities and Individuals
Exemption to ACA Contraceptive Mandate Extended to For-Profit Entities and Individuals
Under the ACA, employers must provide plans that cover birth control and other preventative health services with no out-of-pocket costs. Certain religious employers with religious objections to providing contraceptive services have been exempt from the requirement. (Accommodations have also been provided to non-profit religious…
Crossing the Threshold – Small Business to “ALE”
While many of us have been crossing our fingers behind our backs, hoping that the Affordable Care Act’s employer reporting and shared responsibility penalties would be repealed, many small businesses have crossed the threshold to applicable large employer (ALE) status as a result of hiring or business ownership changes. A business that averaged 50 or…
Loss of COBRA Subsidies – A Marketplace Conundrum
While helping employers craft severance packages, we have often cautioned that a well-meaning offer by an employer to subsidize a former employee’s COBRA coverage for a period of time can result in unintended consequences. Namely, when that subsidy ends, that former employee may find himself or herself with a very high COBRA premium and no…
Where Do We Stand with Health Care?
The American Heath Care Act was designed to provide health care reform and to replace former President Obama’s Affordable Care Act (the “ACA”). However, the House of Representatives, under President Trump’s direction, cancelled its vote in late March because of lack of overall support from Republicans to get passage of the bill in the House.…
Introducing the American Health Care Act! Wait! … Not so fast!
The House Ways and Means Committee and the Energy and Commerce Committee (the two congressional committees having primary responsibility for health care legislation) released draft legislation for repealing and replacing aspects of the Obama administration’s 2010 health care reform law on March 6, 2017 (the “ACA”).
The bill, dubbed the American Health Care Act, is…
IRS to Process Tax Returns That Lack Certification of ACA-Required Coverage
In the wake of the President’s January 20, 2017 Executive Order directing a reduction in regulatory burdens imposed by the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the IRS has quietly announced that it will continue to process income tax returns lacking confirmation that the taxpayer has maintained ACA-required health coverage.
The ACA requires that taxpayers who do…
Health Savings Accounts Considerations for Employers
The health savings account (“HSA”) has become, since its creation in 2003, an increasingly popular option for employers to subsidize employee group health costs. Employees with HSAs can save money, on a tax-free basis, for medical expenses that aren’t otherwise covered. The account’s interest earnings and distributions (for qualified medical expenses) are also tax-free.…