New reporting requirements mandated by the Affordable Care Act are posing challenges to large and small companies, and most employers have made little progress on deciding on or implementing a…
July 2015
-
-
LegislationRegulations
California Health Insurance Rates To Rise By 4%
by Robert Sheenby Robert SheenCalifornia’s Affordable Care Act exchange, known as Covered California, has negotiated an average 4% increase in premiums for the 1.3 million residents of the state who buy individual insurance through…
-
An increasing amount of medical care is being delivered by nurse practitioners, physician assistants and other non-physician providers, making care more widely available and helping hold down costs, according to…
-
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued a reminder that all employers that provide self-insured health coverage, must file an annual return reporting certain information for each employee they cover. If…
-
After two years of debate and months of closed-door negotiations, Utah’s Republican governor and state legislature have agreed on a deal to expand Medicaid in that state, covering about 126,000…
-
Affordable Care ActLegislationRegulations
ACA Offers Help For Informal Caregivers
by Robert Sheenby Robert SheenMillions of Americans who provide unpaid care for ill, disabled or aged family members or friends can now get help through the Affordable Care Act for their own physical and…
-
Affordable Care ActIRS
IRS Offers ACA Webinars for Employers and Insurers
by Robert Sheenby Robert SheenThe Internal Revenue Service is offering a series of three webinars designed to help employers and insurance providers understand provisions of the Affordable Care Act. The webinars will be held…
-
Affordable Care ActHealth Care CoverageMedicaid
Alaska’s Governor Acts to Expand Medicaid
by Robert Sheenby Robert SheenAlaska’s Gov. Bill Walker moved to expand Medicaid, saying he will ask the administration to offer Medicaid coverage to all qualifying residents of the state. Noting that Alaska’s legislature had…
-
Despite a few glitches, the Internal Revenue Service says, the agency’s staff did a “commendable” job implementing provisions of the Affordable Care Act. The most significant new challenge the IRS…
-
LegislationRegulations
New Rules on Religious Objections to Birth Control
by Robert Sheenby Robert SheenThe Obama administration has unveiled new rules aiming to address religious objections by to providing birth control to female employees as required by the Act. We’re committed to helping companies…
-
EditorialsLegislationRegulations
Impact of ‘King’ on Applicable Large Employers
by Robert Sheenby Robert SheenImpact of ‘King’ on Applicable Large Employers The Supreme Court’s decision in ‘King v. Burwell’ had ramifications for “applicable large employers” that went beyond approving payment of insurance subsidies in…
-
Time’s Up on Premium Reimbursement The IRS has taken a hard position on employer payment plans under the ACA, and now the time is up for small employers to comply.…
-
Affordable Care ActHealth Care Coverage
Enrollments Alone Don’t Lead to Better Health
by Robert Sheenby Robert SheenDespite the Affordable Care Act’s success in getting 16 million more Americans enrolled in health insurance programs, major hurdles still keep consumers from understanding their coverage, finding a doctor and…
-
Penalties in sections of the Internal Revenue Code relating to the failure to timely file correct and complete information in a return as well as the failure to timely distribute…
-
RegulationsUncategorized
College’s Objection to Contraception Coverage Is Denied
by Robert Sheenby Robert SheenThe US Court of Appeals has denied a religious college’s request to bar the government from enforcing the Affordable Care Act’s requirement that insurance plans cover the cost of all…
-
The Affordable Care Act’s requirement that insurers offer coverage to everyone, including those with serious pre-existing medical expenses, has not resulted in a surge of hight-cost claims. The federal agency…
-
Information is now available online for 11.4 million financial transactions paid by drug and medical device suppliers to 600,000 physicians and 1,100 teaching hospitals. The payments total $6.49 billion. The…