The Trump Administration released final rules in mid-June on Association Health Plans with final rules on short-term, limited-duration insurance plans (STIs) due in September. There’s been a lot of ink spilled on those topics and what they may do to either undercut the ACA or provide employers and employees with more coverage options, depending on […]
The U.S. agency that administers Obamacare is freezing payments to insurers that cover sicker patients, saying a federal court ruling ties its hands. The move brought a sharp response from health insurers warning of market disruptions and higher costs. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services said Saturday that the February action by the trial […]
Employers who were issued IRS penalty Letter 226-J could receive more bad news depending on how they intend to respond to their alleged violation of the employer shared responsibility provision of the Affordable Care Act. To give the accused a chance to plead their case, Letter 226-J gives employers the opportunity to refute the assessed penalty amount […]
KANSAS City, Mo. — The cost of prescription drugs continues to be a major concern among health plan sponsors and members alike. With no signs of falling in the near future, experts are attempting to understand where the increases began and what options are available today. During the National Association of Health Underwriter’s Annual Convention […]
With more than half of U.S. workers leaving their current job in search of better pay and benefits, a compelling benefits package is a critical competitive advantage for small businesses. It allows them to stand apart from companies of similar sizes and better stack up against larger ones when competing for candidates or attempting to retain talented […]
WASHINGTON, DC — While the drumbeat of repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act has died down since last year, employers must still be aware of the White House’s plans to change the healthcare landscape. There are still some initiatives like President Donald Trump’s Oct. 12 executive order requiring the Department of Labor to adopt regulations that […]
The Internal Revenue Service is beginning to send out Employer Shared Responsibility Payment notices to employers that it believes failed to comply with the ACA coverage requirements in 2015 calendar year. Some employers receiving these notices actually complied with the ACA requirements in 2015, but the IRS received inaccurate or incomplete information and has thus […]
(Bloomberg) – The Trump administration is siding with Texas in the state’s bid to convince a federal judge that Obamacare is largely unconstitutional. The Justice Department is tasked with defending federal statutes. But in this instance it agrees with the state that the individual mandate and other requirements should be deemed illegitimate as of Jan. […]
(Bloomberg Opinion) – A lawsuit against the Affordable Care Act may well turn out to be a bigger story in the news than in the courts. When the Donald Trump administration declined to defend the law, and partly endorsed the lawsuit, critics denounced it for flouting its alleged duty to defend duly enacted federal laws […]
Is health insurance really so difficult to understand? Not according to U.S. consumers. According to recent research conducted by GfK, when it comes to health insurance, only about one in four think decisions about health insurance are extremely or very complicated. Moreover, 75% think they know as much as or more than their friends and […]
