Benefits Buzz
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) has eliminated the need for certificates of creditable coverage (a.k.a. HIPAA notices) as of this year. These notices detailed the amount of time a person was covered under a health plan, and their primary purpose was to reduce or eliminate pre-existing condition waiting periods when someone was changing from one health plan to another. Since the ACA has eliminated pre-existing condition waiting periods in almost all market segments, these notices are deemed to be no longer relevant.
On March 4, 2015 the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in regards to the King vs. Burwell case, which is the most significant challenge to the Affordable Care Act (ACA) since the constitutionality of the Individual Mandate was challenged back in 2012. The plaintiffs in the King vs. Burwell case argue that subsidies can only be provided by states that establish an Exchange on their own. They further argue that the federal government, which is utilized in 37 states, cannot provide subsidies to Exchange applicants.
The IRS has released Notice 2015-17 with some new information about Employer Payment Plans, which are plans that are used to reimburse employees with pre-tax dollars for individual market coverage (e.g. HRA). Previous guidance had essentially eliminated Employer Payment Plans as an option for actively employed workers because they would not be able to comply with all of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) market reforms. Notice 2015-17 elaborates on the IRS’ position of Employer Payment Plans.
Join Our Mailing List
Benefits Buzz RSS Feed
Tag Cloud
Archives
Enter Your Email
