As mentioned in the first posting, wellness programs must be analyzed under a myriad of laws and regulations. This post will discuss generally the wellness program landscape in light of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)/Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act (ADAAA), the Genetic Information Non-Discrimination Act (GINA), the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act […]
Posted by Linda Rowings Premium tax credits are only available to individuals who obtain health coverage through a Marketplace. A dispute has arisen as to whether the IRS has the ability to interpret PPACA to allow the subsidy to individuals who obtain coverage through any Marketplace, or whether the language of PPACA limits eligibility to […]
Posted by Linda Rowings Beginning in 2015, large employers must offer affordable, minimum value coverage to their full-time employees or potentially pay a penalty. Some companies have been marketing a plan that they state satisfies the minimum value requirement (an actuarial value of 60%), based upon a calculator provided by the Department of Health and […]
Posted by Linda Rowings The Department of Labor (DOL), the IRS, and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) have jointly issued a FAQ that addresses how “reference-based pricing” works with the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act’s (PPACA) restrictions on out-of-pocket maximums. PPACA limits the out-of-pocket maximum a non-grandfathered plan may impose, and […]
By Linda Rowings On Friday, October 31, 2014, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) quietly updated its Health Plan Identifier information page to delay the requirement that insurance carriers and self-funded health plans obtain a health plan identifier (HPID). The delay is in effect until further notice. Plans that have already obtained their […]
Posted by Linda Rowings The transitional reinsurance fee (TRF) applies to fully insured and self-funded major medical plans for 2014, 2015, and 2016. The purpose of the fee is to provide funds to help stabilize premiums in the individual insurance market in view of uncertainty about how the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) […]
By Carol Taylor, Employee Benefit Advisor D&S Agency, a UBA Partner Firm The United Benefit Advisors (UBA) annual Health Plan Survey for 2014, which contains validated data on 16,467 plans for 9,950 employers, shows minor average change for plans in the last year. The survey contains information on plans that renewed predominantly between June 2013 […]
Posted by Linda Rowings To meet federal requirements, large health plans must obtain a national health plan identifier number (HPID) by November 5, 2014. For this requirement, a large health plan is one with more than $5 million in annual receipts. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has said that since health plans […]
By Linda Rowings Chief Compliance Officer, UBA The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and the Department of Labor (DOL) released final regulations that explain when dental and vision plans and employee assistance plans (EAPs) will be considered “excepted benefits.†Excepted benefits are health benefits that are limited […]
