On July 17, 2019, the IRS released Notice 2019-45 to add care for a range of chronic conditions to the list of preventive care benefits that can be provided by a high deductible health plan (HDHP) without a deductible. Individuals who are covered by an HDHP generally may establish and …
On July 17, 2019, the House passed a bill that would repeal the currently inactive Cadillac tax. The tax is an unpopular provision of the ACA, which is scheduled to take effect in 2022. The Middle Class Health Benefits Tax Repeal Act of 2019 would repeal the Cadillac tax before …
On Monday, June 24, 2019, President Donald Trump signed an executive order designed to increase pricing and quality transparency in healthcare. The president’s executive order is the latest move that the Trump administration has taken to address rising healthcare costs. In May 2019, the Department of Health and Human Services …
On July 23, 2019, the IRS issued Revenue Procedure 2019-29 to index the contribution percentages in 2020 for determining affordability of an employer’s plan under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). For plan years beginning in 2020, employer-sponsored coverage will be considered affordable if the employee’s required contribution for self-only coverage …
Employers with employee benefit plans that operate on a calendar year basis must file their annual reports (Forms 5500) for 2018 with the Department of Labor (DOL) by July 31, 2019. An employer may extend this deadline by two and one-half months (until Oct. 15, 2019) by filing IRS Form …
On June 13, 2019, the Departments of Labor (DOL), Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Treasury (Departments) issued a final rule that expands the usability of health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs). Effective in 2020, the final rule establishes two new types of HRAs: Individual Coverage HRA: Allows employers to offer …
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) imposes a fee on health insurance issuers and plan sponsors of self-insured health plans to help fund the PatientCentered Outcomes Research Institute. The fee, called the PatientCentered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) fee, is calculated based on the average number of lives covered under the policy …
On Thursday, May 23, 2019, the Senate Health Committee proposed a bipartisan bill called the Lower Health Care Costs Act. This bill sets out to address surprise medical billing, reduce the cost of prescription drugs and the overall cost of delivering health care, and improve transparency. The proposed bill is the latest move …
On May 28, 2019, the IRS released Revenue Procedure 2019-25 to announce the inflation-adjusted limits for health savings accounts (HSAs) and high deductible health plans (HDHPs) for 2020. These limits include: The maximum HSA contribution limit; The minimum deductible amount for HDHPs; and The maximum out-of-pocket expense limit for HDHPs. …
On June 21, 2018, the Department of Labor (DOL) issued a final rule that gave small businesses more freedom to join together as a single group to purchase health insurance in the large group market or to self-insure. These benefit arrangements are called association health plans (AHPs). By forming AHPs, small …
On May 9, 2019, President Donald Trump delivered a speech criticizing the practice of surprise medical billing. He announced a general plan of attack and hinted at a few specifics for curbing the trend. The president’s speech aligned with this administration’s American Patients First initiative—a blueprint for lowering consumer health …
On April 19, 2019, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released its final Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters for 2020. This rule describes benefit and payment parameters under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that apply for the 2020 benefit year. Standards included in the rule relate to: …
On Monday, April 1, 2019, President Donald Trump stated in a series of tweets that a vote on a Republican Party (GOP) replacement health care plan for the Affordable Care Act (ACA) won’t take place until after the 2020 elections. GOP’s Health Care Plan President Trump’s tweets stated that the …
The IRS recently released an information letter describing circumstances that would allow an employer to recover contributions mistakenly made to its employees’ HSAs. Previously, IRS guidance allowed employers to recover HSA contributions in very limited situations, such as when the contribution exceeded the applicable annual limit. The new guidance also …
In 2018, Office for Civil Rights (OCR) settled 10 cases and was granted summary judgment in a case in Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) enforcement. The enforcement actions resulted in an all-time record year for OCR, with enforcement penalties collected totaling $28.7 million—a 22 percent increase from the …
