The US Treasury released the final regulations implementing the employer shared responsibility penalty provisions of the 2010 health care reform law on February 10, 2014. In many ways, the final regulations resemble the proposed regulations issued over a year ago but there are several – mostly welcome – changes and transition provisions for employers. (See
Department Of Labor Issues “Me Too” Technical Release: ERISA Definition of Marriage Includes Same-Sex Spouses
IRS Rules: All Legal Same-Sex Marriages Will Be Recognized for Federal Tax Purposes
The Internal Revenue Service issued Revenue Ruling 2013-17 answering some, but not all, questions for employers in the wake of the US Supreme Court’s opinion that invalidated the federal law that confined marriage to a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife – United States v. Windsor, No. 12-307
Relief from August 30th Deadline for Fee Disclosures
The Department of Labor is allowing defined contribution retirement plan administrators to reset the timing for annual fee disclosures to participants (see our earlier blog post reminding readers of the disclosure requirement and contemplating possible relief).
DOL has issued Field Assistance Bulletin 2013-02 announcing the temporary enforcement policy. The participant-level fee disclosure regulation, implemented last year
Deadline for Annual 401(k)/403(b) Disclosure Approaching
Employers that sponsor participant-directed individual account plans like 401(k)s and 403(b)s need to prepare for the annual disclosure requirement imposed on plan administrators under section 404 of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. (See our earlier posts and article regarding the regulations that became effective last year.)
Separate regulations required service providers to give plan administrators
Employers Must Provide Notices Regarding Availability of Exchange Coverage
A provision of the 2010 health care reform law requires employers to provide notices, by March 1, 2013, to all employees regarding the availability of health coverage options through the state-based exchanges created pursuant to that law. In January, the Department of Labor had announced delayed enforcement of the exchange coverage notice provision (which added Section
More Guidance on the Summary of Benefits and Coverage (But No Surprises)
The Department of Labor, Health and Human Services and the Treasury collectively published new FAQs regarding the requirement to provide a summary of benefits and coverage (SBC) under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) (http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/faqs/faq-aca14.html#footnotes).
The FAQs include an updated SBC template and an updated sample completed SBC (available at cciio.cms.gov and www.dol.gov/ebsa/healthreform).
Proposed Regulations on Certificates of Creditable Coverage
Proposed regulations published on March 21, 2013 addressed not only the 90-day waiting period rule discussed below but also the eventual elimination of notices of creditable coverage under HIPAA’s preexisting condition exclusions rules.
The 2010 health care reform law prohibits group health plans from imposing preexisting condition exclusions, effective for plan years beginning on or
Proposed Regulations Released on the 90-day Waiting Period Rule
Eighty-nine pages of proposed regulations confirm that employers may not impose a group health plan waiting period of more than 90 days. No surprise there – the prohibition already was set forth in the 2010 health care reform law. A waiting period that provides for coverage to start on the first day of the month following 90
Health Care Reform – Minimum Value Calculator Available
Last week, the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) and Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) released a minimum value calculator to determine whether the percentage of the total allowed costs of benefits provided under a group health plan is at least 60% – a requirement in order for the employer plan to be treated as