IRS

Posted April 25th, 2017 in Producers, Employers

The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) issued a report dated April 7th and entitled “Affordable Care Act: Assessment of Efforts to Implement the Employer Shared Responsibility Provision.” In other words, TIGTA issued a report about the efforts of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to collect Employer Mandate penalties.

Posted November 22nd, 2016 in Producers, Employers, Individuals
Last week, we posted a blog on the future of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). That blog focused on what types of things could potentially be repealed under President-elect Donald Trump. In this blog, the focus is on when things could start to get repealed, with an understanding that this is all speculation.
 
Posted October 21st, 2016 in Producers, Employers

The only way for an employer to provide certain benefits tax-free to its employees, such as health, dental or vision insurance, is through a Cafeteria Plan, as defined under Section 125 of the Internal Revenue Code. The only way for an employer to have a Cafeteria Plan is by preparing a written plan document which meets the requirements of Code Section 125. Failure to have a written document, or failure to operate a Cafeteria Plan in accordance with the terms of Code Section 125, disqualifies the plan as a Cafeteria Plan and results in gross income to the participants. In other words, any participant in the plan will lose the tax favorable status of the benefits that he or should would have otherwise received.

Posted October 11th, 2016 in Producers, Employers
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires certain entities to report information to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) relative to health insurance coverage. The reporting is generally completed by insurance companies, government-run Exchanges and applicable large employers. The reporting helps the IRS enforce three key provisions of the ACA:
 
  1. Most U.S. citizens and lawfully present residents must have health insurance or pay a penalty. This is referred to as the Individual Mandate. The reporting helps the IRS understand who has health insurance coverage.
     
Posted September 13th, 2016 in Producers, Employers
Today, September 13, 2016,  marks the three-year anniversary of the release date for IRS Notice 2013-54, which ironically occurred on Friday the 13th. A few years back, benefits industry leaders thought employers could be deterred from adopting Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRAs) since much of the guidance made changes to the types of HRAs that could be offered. Below is a snapshot of the (now) permissible types of HRAs.
Posted August 22nd, 2016 in Producers, Employers
By now, you’ve probably heard about the Employer Mandate on several different occasions. Without reiterating all of the specific details, applicable large employers (ALEs) must offer health insurance coverage to full-time employees that has minimum value and is considered affordable or risk paying penalties.
 
Posted August 3rd, 2016 in Producers, Employers
According to a DOL website, “The Form 5500 Series is an important compliance, research, and disclosure tool for the Department of Labor, a disclosure document for plan participants and beneficiaries, and a source of information and data for use by other Federal agencies, Congress, and the private sector in assessing employee benefit, tax, and economic trends and policies.
Posted July 22nd, 2016 in Producers, Employers
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Social Security Administration (SSA), and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) are required to share information that each agency has about whether Medicare beneficiaries or their spouses are working. This sharing of information is referred to as the IRS-SSA-CMS Data Match, and the purpose of the Data Match is to identify situations where another group health plan may be primary to Medicare. In general, a group health will be primary to Medicare when:
 
Posted July 7th, 2016 in Producers, Employers, Individuals
It should be pretty clear by now that two of the biggest provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) are the Individual and Employer Mandates. The Individual Mandate requires all Americans to have a health insurance plan or pay a penalty, unless an exemption applies. Factors that may influence the amount of the Individual Mandate penalty include household size and income. The Employer Mandate requires employers with 50 or more employees to offer health insurance coverage to at least 95% of its full-time employees or risk penalties.
Posted July 1st, 2016 in Producers, Employers
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently issued a final rule which effectively implements Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The new rule prohibits certain discriminatory acts from occurring for health programs or activities that are administered by HHS, including plans that are sold on federal and state Marketplaces. 
 

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