On January 3, 2012, the IRS published Notice 2012- 9, restating and amending its previous interim guidance on how to comply with the Form W-2 reporting requirements enacted as part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (the “Affordable Care Act”). The notice is available at: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/n-12-09.pdf. Background Section 9002 of the Affordable Care […]

On November 15, 2011, the San Francisco Health Care Security Ordinance (the “Ordinance”) was significantly amended by the City of San Francisco (the “City”) to: Mandate that health reimbursement account contributions be available to employees for a minimum of two (2) years measured from the date of contribution, thereby eliminating Section 125 health flexible spending […]

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (the “Affordable Care Act”) added new Public Health Service Act section 2715(d)(4) that requires group health plans and health insurance issuers in the group and individual markets to provide a four page summary of benefits and coverage (“SBC”) and a uniform glossary to enrollees. On August 22, 2011, […]

In a welcome set of guidance published in the Federal Register on June 24, 2011, the Department of Labor (the “DOL”), the Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”), and the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) jointly amended the interim final rules implementing the internal claims and appeals and external review requirements for non-grandfathered health […]

In a welcome set of guidance published in the Federal Register on June 24, 2011 (http://webapps.dol.gov/FederalRegister/PdfDisplay.aspx?DocId=25131), the Department of Labor (the “DOL”), the Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”), and the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) jointly amended the interim final rules implementing the internal claims and appeals and external review requirements for non-grandfathered […]

With the enactment of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (the “Act”) on March 23, 2010, sweeping changes were made to the manner in which health care is provided in the United States. While many group health plan sponsors were required to implement a number of the Act’s reforms as of January […]

The Department of Labor (“DOL”) and Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) recently released new guidance clarifying important provisions in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“PPACA”). The most recent DOL guidance comes in the form of a three-part series of FAQs posted to the PPACA section of its website. The most recent IRS guidance is […]

On July 23, 2010, the Departments of the Treasury, Labor and Health and Human Services jointly released Interim Final Regulations under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“PPACA”) (75 Fed. Reg. 43,330 (July 23, 2010)), detailing the internal claims and appeals and external review processes for non-grandfathered insured and self-insured group health plans. Just […]

The recently passed healthcare reform bill amends Section 125 of the Internal Revenue Code (the “IRC”) to allow small employers to establish “simple cafeteria plans” for plan years beginning after December 31, 2010. If an eligible small employer satisfies the eligibility and contribution requirements discussed below, the employer can take advantage of a safe harbor […]

On June 28, 2010, the Departments of the Treasury, Labor and Health and Human Services issued interim final regulations (the “Regulations”) to implement certain provisions under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act as Amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act (the “Affordable Care Act”). This article summarizes the Regulations as they implement […]

On June 14, 2010, the Departments of the Treasury, Labor and Health and Human Services issued Interim Final Regulations (“the Regulations”) regarding grandfathered health plan status under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act as amended by the Health Care and Education Affordability Reconciliation Act of 2010 (the “Affordable Care Act”). The Regulations provide guidance […]

On May 13, 2010, three government agencies¹ jointly issued an interim final rule implementing the requirement to provide dependent coverage to adult children until age 26 under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (the “Affordable Care Act”), as amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act (the “Reconciliation Act”). The rule clarifies that […]

Background Section 1102 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (“Act”) mandated establishment by the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) of the Early Retiree Reinsurance Program (“Program”), a temporary program designed to address recent erosion in the number of employers providing health coverage to early retirees. On May 5, 2010, […]

We have all been reading numerous articles on healthcare reform and are on the brink of information overload. This article is a short list of five things an employer should consider — now! Background After over a year of negotiations and debate on the future of health care in the United States, the House of […]

After over a year of negotiations and debate on the future of health care in the United States, the House of Representatives (“House”) voted on March 21 to pass the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (H.R. 3590) — legislation which was passed by the Senate on December 24, 2009 (“the Act”). On March 21 […]