Affordable Care Act, IRS, Employer Group Health Plans

You May be Able to Increase Health Plan Premiums and Stay Affordable in 2025

Bricker Graydon LLP on 9/17/2024

For the first time in four years, the IRS adjusted the affordability percentage used for the shared responsibility penalties. The IRS recently announced that the affordability percentage for 2025 will be 9.02%....more

Health Plan Hygiene Part 1: A Spoonful of Sugar Helps the Medicine Go Down

Jackson Lewis P.C. on 7/16/2024

During the next several weeks, we will publish a series of articles that dive deeply into “health plan hygiene” relating to health and welfare benefit plan fiduciary issues and how employers can protect themselves in this...more

Year-End Health Benefits Roundup 2023

Alston & Bird on 12/7/2023

It was a lively year for health benefits. Our Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation Group unpacks 2023, from the end of the COVID-19 emergencies to the much-anticipated Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act...more

2023 End-of-Year Plan Sponsor “To Do” Lists (Part 1) Health and Welfare

Snell & Wilmer on 10/12/2023

We are pleased to present our annual End of Year Plan Sponsor “To Do” Lists. This year, we present our “To Do” Lists in four separate Employee Benefits Updates. This Part 1 covers year-end health and welfare plan issues....more

Employers May Have to Pay More in 2024 as Affordability Threshold Hits New Low for Second Year in a Row

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on 10/9/2023

Seyfarth Synopsis: The IRS has announced adjustments decreasing the affordability threshold for plan years beginning in 2024, which may cause employers to have to pay more for ACA compliant coverage in 2024. The IRS...more

IRS Reduces 2024 Affordability Percentage

Williams Mullen on 9/28/2023

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) decreased the Affordable Care Act (ACA) affordability percentage for 2024 to 8.39%. This percentage is used to assess whether an applicable large employer’s (ALE) lowest-premium health plan...more

Planning for Open Enrollment? Note the ACA Affordability Threshold Drop

Bass, Berry & Sims PLC on 9/20/2023

On August 23, the Internal Revenue Service issued Rev. Proc. 2023-29, announcing that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) affordability threshold will be 8.39% for plan years beginning in 2024, a substantial decrease from the 9.12%...more

ACA Affordability Test Will Be More Difficult to Pass in 2024

Baker Donelson on 9/12/2023

As employers are preparing for 2024 open enrollment, they should be aware that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) affordability safe harbors are going DOWN for 2024. The IRS has just released Revenue Procedure 2023-29, which...more

You May Need to Lower Employees’ Premiums to Keep Your Plan Affordable Under the ACA

Bricker Graydon LLP on 9/7/2023

For the third year in a row, the IRS adjusted the affordability percentage used for the shared responsibility penalties down. The IRS recently announced that the affordability percentage for 2024 will be 8.39%. This is down...more

‎2024 Healthcare Affordability Percentage Makes Benefits More Expensive for Employers‎

Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt PC on 8/28/2023

The employee benefits 2024 open enrollment season is quickly approaching and, with newly released IRS guidance, employers should be careful to ensure the health plan they offer employees is considered affordable. According to...more

Three Facts Every Employer Should Know about Code Section 4980H Penalties

Snell & Wilmer on 8/18/2023

If you need help determining whether you are an “applicable large employer” subject to these rules or estimating the extent of potential penalty exposure, our Employer Shared Responsibility Penalty Checklist for Employers may...more

Compliance Alert: Reminder PCORI Fees Due By July 31, 2023

Woodruff Sawyer on 6/22/2023

Employers that sponsor self-insured group health plans, including health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs) should keep in mind the upcoming July 31, 2023 deadline for paying fees that fund the Patient-Centered Outcomes...more

Employers Will See Increased ACA Penalties in 2023

Trusaic on 2/16/2023

Employers, take note: 2023 brings heftier IRS penalties for failure to comply with the ACA’s Employer Mandate. Under the ACA’s Employer Mandate, ALEs, or employers with 50 or more full-time and full-time equivalent...more

ACA Penalty Letter 226J on The Rise

Trusaic on 11/30/2022

The last several years have been difficult for the IRS, but now that the agency is almost through its historic backlog, it is making significant progress on a long list of to-do items, including issuing ACA penalties....more

Employee Benefits Post-Dobbs: Considerations for Year-End Planning

Goodwin on 11/16/2022

Much has been written about the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson to overturn the constitutional right to abortion. For employers in particular, the Dobbs decision raised a number of questions about employee...more

Understanding ACA Affordability for 2023 Tax Year

Trusaic on 11/16/2022

Since ACA reporting was first required by employers in 2015, the affordability component under the Employer Mandate was established each year by indexing the standard of 9.5%. This has always been the case, that is, until...more

Fun for the Whole Family: More ACA Subsidies Apply

McDermott Will & Emery on 11/1/2022

On October 11, 2022, the US Department of Treasury (Treasury) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued final regulations to modify how affordability under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is determined for an offer of...more

IRS Releases Final Rule to Fix ACA’s Family “Glitch”

Woodruff Sawyer on 10/21/2022

On October 13, 2022, the IRS finalized regulations (the “Final Rule”) intended to revise the method of determining affordability under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) for an employee’s family members by considering whether the...more

5 Most Important Steps for Employers Doing Their 2023 ACA Compliance Planning

Fisher Phillips on 9/15/2022

Applicable large employers must adhere to many Affordable Care Act (ACA) rules to remain compliant regarding group health plan offerings. We offer the following checklist of the five most helpful reminders you should take...more

Abortion as an Employee Health Benefit – How to Protect against Potential Liability Post-Dobbs

Pillsbury - Policyholder Pulse blog on 8/1/2022

Amazon. Bank of America. Citigroup. Dick’s Sporting Goods. JP Morgan. Kroger. Meta. Microsoft. Procter & Gamble. Target. Walt Disney Company. These are just a few of what is a growing list of companies that have offered to...more

Treasury Proposes Rule to Fix Family Glitch for ACA Marketplace Coverage

Fisher Phillips on 5/27/2022

The Department of Treasury recently issued proposed regulations to alter the rules for how individuals can get a premium tax credit (PTC) to help pay for Marketplace health coverage starting in 2023. The new rules would base...more

Dealing With Undocumented Workers In ERISA Plans

Jackson Lewis P.C. on 5/13/2022

Whether because of the tight U.S. labor market or flawed onboarding processes, many undocumented workers are becoming participants and accruing benefits in ERISA-governed employee benefit plans. Dealing with such plan...more

Do Employers Now Have to Offer Affordable Family Coverage?

Jackson Lewis P.C. on 4/11/2022

In furtherance of the Biden Administration’s January 28, 2021, Executive Order 14009 and April 5, 2022, Executive Order 14070 to protect and strengthen the ACA, the Treasury Department and IRS published a proposed rule on...more

Bankruptcy and IRC Section 4980H

Freeman Law on 4/1/2022

The recent bankruptcy case of In re Creative Hairdressers, Inc. et al, Case Nos. 20-14583 and 20-14584 (jointly administered) (Bankr. D. Md., March 3, 2022) involved the intersection of IRC section 4980H‘s employer shared...more

It’s Almost the End of 2021. Do You Know Where Your Healthcare Dollars Go?

Jackson Lewis P.C. on 12/10/2021

The CAA Transparency Rules Will Let Plans and Participants Know. The Department of Labor, Health and Human Services, and the IRS (collectively the Departments) recently released the Interim Final Rules with a request for...more

Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) › Internal Revenue Service › Employer Group Health Plans

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