Producers
Posted December 12th, 2017 in Producers, Employers, Individuals
We haven’t even gotten through the 2018 open enrollment season yet, but the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has already proposed rules that would impact health insurance markets for 2019. Each year, CMS issues a Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters which explains various rules, inflation adjustments and other changes that will occur with the implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
The Health Savings Account (HSA) market has grown rapidly in the past decade. More than 21 million people currently have an HSA and there’s still plenty of opportunity for growth. In fact, a recent report projects 30 million HSAs by the end of 2019.
Here are the top employer benefits of an HSA:
Bipartisan efforts (yes, you read that right) are underway to repeal the Cadillac Tax imposed by the Affordable Care Act (ACA). A letter signed by 140 bipartisan members of the House of Representatives (House) urges a repeal this year. Efforts are being led by Congressman Joe Courtney (D-CT-2) and Mike Kelly (R-PA-3).
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has updated its Questions and Answers website in regards to the Employer Mandate, and it appears they have started to send initial notices to employers who are subject to a penalty for the 2015 year (generally, this will be employers with 100 or more employees since transition relief was available in 2015 to employers with 50-99 employees).
Posted November 14th, 2017 in Producers, Employers, Individuals
Congressional Republicans have shifted their focus from healthcare reform to tax reform. According to an overview which was released in late September, three key objectives of tax reform are to:
- Make the tax code simple, fair and easy to understand.
- Give American workers a pay raise by allowing them to keep more of their paychecks.
- Bring back trillions of dollars that are currently kept offshore to reinvest in the American economy.
The original version of this article was published on January 15, 2016. It has been updated annualy to account for inflationary changes.
Posted November 1st, 2017 in Producers, Employers, Individuals
As you may have heard, the Trump administration discontinued funding for the cost-sharing reduction subsidies (CSR subsidies). Critics of this move believe it will create instability in the Exchange and individual marketplaces. Political efforts to restore the CSR subsidies are underway, but it appears Republican leadership has some demands as part of those restoration efforts.
Posted October 23rd, 2017 in Producers, Employers, Individuals
IRS Revenue Procedure 2017-58 was released last week. It includes a number of inflation adjustments to various benefits and other items for 2018 including the following for Consumer-Driven Accounts:
To offer an FSA, or not to offer an FSA, that is the question. Let’s just cut right to the chase.
Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs) are a great way for employees to save on taxes for medical and dependent care expenses, but employers also receive financial benefits by offering an FSA.
Posted October 10th, 2017 in Producers, Employers, Individuals
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires most health insurance plans to cover in-network preventive care at 100%, including coverage for prescribed contraceptives available to women. This has sparked some controversy with organizations who have a religious objection to the use of contraceptives. The Obama administration addressed this controversy by doing the following:
- Exempted group health plans offered by churches and houses of worship from providing coverage for contraceptives if there was a religious objection.
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