A unit the Department and Human Services (HHS) will test bundled and quality for hip and knee replacement, beginning April 1, 2016. The test is aimed at encouraging hospitals, physicians …
2016 Presidential Election
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Affordable Care ActHealth Care Coverage
Millions Use Healthcare.gov in Week 1
by Robert Sheenby Robert SheenAlmost 3.2 million consumers used the website during the first open for Act , the Department and Human Services announced in its initial weekly “snapshot” report for the current . …
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Affordable Care ActApplicable Large Employer (ALE)
IRS Posts Information for Large Employers
by Robert Sheenby Robert SheenThe Internal Revenue Services has added a page to its website which centralizes information to help “applicable large employers” comply with provisions of the Affordable Care Act. An applicable large …
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Affordable Care ActLegislationRegulations
Contraception Back Before Supreme Court
by Robert Sheenby Robert SheenAt the request the Obama administration, the Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case centered on religious freedom and access to contraception under the Act. The court will hear …
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Affordable Care ActHealth Care CoverageLegislationRegulations
Tax Considerations During Open Enrollment
by Robert Sheenby Robert SheenThe is alerting consumers to three matters they should consider while purchasing or renewing via an online . When a consumer applies for assistance to help pay the premiums for …
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Affordable Care ActHealth Care CoverageRegulations
Mid-Size Companies Must Offer Coverage in 2016
by Robert Sheenby Robert SheenEmployers with 50 to 99 full-time workers, or full-time equivalents, will be required to offer Affordable Care Act-compliant health insurance in 2016. Companies with 100 or more employees (or FTEs), …
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Affordable Care ActLegislationRegulations
ACA Automatic Enrollment Repealed
by Robert Sheenby Robert SheenThe “automatic enrollment” provision of the Affordable Care Act, never enforced, has been repealed under the budget deal hammered out between Congress and the White House and signed into law …
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Health Care CoverageHealth Insurance Marketplace
Premiums For Key Plans Up An Average Of 7.5%
by Robert Sheenby Robert SheenPremiums will increase an average 7.5% for the second-lowest- silver insurance plans offered next year in the 37 states where the federal government operates marketplaces, according to a Kaiser Foundation …
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Health Care CoveragePrescription Drugs
Prescription Drug Costs Are Top Issue For Public
by Robert Sheenby Robert SheenWith presidential candidates in both parties proposing changes to the nation’s health care system, most consumers are much more interested in the cost of prescription drugs, according to a poll …
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The third annual open enrollment period for Affordable Care Act insurance coverage begins November 1, continuing through January 31. The federal government and many states are launching public information campaigns …
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ACA ComplianceAffordable Care ActApplicable Large Employer (ALE)Health Care CoverageMinimum Essential Coverage
How To Know If Coverage Meets ACA Requirements
by Robert Sheenby Robert SheenUnder the Affordable Care Act, employers with 50 or more full-time or full-time equivalent employees – called applicable large employers, or ALEs – are subject to the employer shared responsibility …
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Well over a million low-income Americans could lose the subsidies they receive under the Affordable Care Act because they failed to file federal income tax returns, failed to include IRS …
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Health Care CoveragePolls/Surveys
Deductibles Causing Patients to Delay Care
by Robert Sheenby Robert SheenEmergency room physicians say more of the patients they see have delayed seeking medical care despite having health insurance, because of high out-of-pocket expenses, high deductibles or high co-insurance. In …
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The IRS reminded employers, insurance providers and other entities that provide coverage under the Affordable Care Act of their reporting obligations under the ACA and the 2016 deadlines for submitting …
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Tax Year 2015 ACA Assurance Testing System (AATS) will open for testing in early November for Information Returns that will be processed in 2016, the IRS announced. The testing is …
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Affordable Care ActHealth Care Coverage
Pennsylvania Limits Premium Hikes on ACA Plans
by Robert Sheenby Robert SheenPennsylvania’s insurance regulator has rolled back the health insurance premium increases some of the state’s largest insurers had requested for plans that will be sold on its marketplace in 2016. …
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Affordable Care ActHealth Care Coverage
Health Program Launched for Low-Income New Yorkers
by Robert Sheenby Robert SheenNew York State has introduced a new affordable health insurance plan designed for low-income residents who make too much money to qualify for Medicaid, but not enough to afford private …
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If You Don’t Have SSNs, Keep Asking for Them Many of the forms employers will have to file with the IRS early in 2016 ask for Social Security or taxpayer …
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The Department of Health and Human Services set a goal for 2016 of signing up 10 million Americans for health insurance through state and federal marketplaces established under the Affordable …
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Affordable Care Act
The ACA Is Not Harming Employment, a Fed Study Says
by Robert Sheenby Robert SheenContrary to predictions by critics of the Affordable Care Act prior to itsimplementation, the healthcare law has not caused employers to cut the number of their employees or reduce the …
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Affordable Care ActLegislation
Voters In Key States Want ACA to Stay
by Robert Sheenby Robert SheenA majority of likely voters in five key battleground states – Florida, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia – believe the Affordable Care Act is here to stay (64%) and want …
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With only weeks remaining in 2015, more than half of companies responding to a recent survey say they have not made much progress toward meeting the reporting requirements of the …
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Affordable Care ActLegislationRegulations
ACA Definition of ‘Small Employer’ is Revised
by Robert Sheenby Robert SheenA bill aimed at protecting employees from possible increases in healthcare insurance costs under the Affordable Care Act passed both the House of Representatives and Senate, and has been signed …
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Affordable Care ActRegulations
How Income Affects The Premium Tax Credit
by Robert Sheenby Robert SheenThe IRS has issued advice to help individuals understand how their household income can affect the Affordable Care Act premium tax credit they may receive on health insurance policies purchased …
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Affordable Care ActLegislationRegulations
Robert Sheen Speaks to HR Executives on ACA Compliance
by Robert Sheenby Robert SheenAmerican employers must deal with new IRS reporting obligations and the possibility of hefty penalties because of the Affordable Care Act, Robert S. Sheen, Editor of the ACA Times and …
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Affordable Care ActHealth Care Coverage
17.6 Million Have Gained Health Coverage Under the ACA
by Robert Sheenby Robert SheenAs of September 12, an estimated 17.6 million Americans have gained health insurance coverage since enrollment under the Affordable Care Act began in October of 2013, according to the Department …
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The Department of Health and Human Services announced $685 million in awards aimed at improving quality of care and reducing costs. The money will go to health care networks and …
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Affordable Care ActHealth Care Coverage
Number of Uninsured Women Sharply Lower
by Robert Sheenby Robert SheenThe percentage of women aged 15 to 44 dropped sharply between 2013 and 2014, the first full year of implementation of the Affordable Care Act,,according to an analysis by the …
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Affordable Care Act
Coverage Offer Can Affect Shared Responsibility Payment
by Robert Sheenby Robert SheenUnder the Affordable Care Act, applicable large employers are subject to the employer shared responsibility provisions. They must either offer affordable minimum essential coverage to full-time employees and their dependents, …
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The IRS is preparing new regulations to help avoid duplicate reporting of an individual’s minimum essential coverage when there is reasonable certainty that the provider of the “primary” coverage will report. The …
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Health Care Coverage
Employer Premiums Up 4%, Deductibles Rising Faster
by Robert Sheenby Robert SheenPremiums for employer-sponsored health insurance rose an average of 4% this year, continuing a decade-long period of moderate growth, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. But the size of deductibles paid …
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Affordable Care ActLegislationRegulations
House Can Sue Administration on ACA Funding
by Robert Sheenby Robert SheenThe House of Representatives can pursue its lawsuit against the Obama Administration that claims funding of subsidies under the Affordable Care Act violate the Constitution. Judge Rosemary M. Collyer of …
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As you get ready to file 2015 reports required by the Act, the Internal Revenue has released the final for submitting these reports, along with instructions for them. For reports …
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The IRS sent letters this summer to some taxpayers who were issued a Form 1095-A, Health Insurance Marketplace Statement, showing that advance payments of the premium tax credit were paid …
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Affordable Care Act
S&P Says Nonprofit Providers Are Financially Stronger
by Robert Sheenby Robert SheenThe Affordable Care Act, Medicaid expansion and the wave of mergers they have triggered have made the nonprofit healthcare sector financially stronger, according to the Standard & Poor’s ratings agency. …
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The Internal Revenue Service said it will propose a number of changes in the regulations on reports related to the Affordable Care Act. All of the proposed changes will have …
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A study by researchers at Harvard Medical School says an Act intended to make hospitals more efficient is unintentionally punishing hospitals that serve the sickest, poorest and least-educated patients. Under …
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EditorialsLegislationRegulations
Penalties Double For ACA Filing Failures
by Robert Sheenby Robert SheenPenalties for failure to satisfy the complex IRS filing requirements resulting from the Affordable Care Act (ACA) have just doubled. With filing deadlines approaching, employers should act quickly to ensure …
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The Internal Revenue Service has issued proposed regulations that will require employer-sponsored health care plans to include “substantial coverage” for in-patient hospitalization and physician services. So-called “skinny” plans that lack …
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Affordable Care ActHealth Care Coverage
Key Dates for ACA Open Enrollment
by Robert Sheenby Robert SheenNovember 1, 2015 – Open Enrollment begins. Individuals can apply for, drop, keep or change their Insurance plans. December 15, 2015 – Individuals must enroll by this date if they …
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A decision by the National Labor Relations Board that franchisors and companies using staffing agencies can be considered joint employers is expected to have a significant impact on companies that …
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Affordable Care ActReportingTax Filings
$11 Billion in Credits Paid During Filing Season
by Robert Sheenby Robert SheenConsumers who bought individual health insurance coverage through federal and state exchanges received almost $11 billion in premium assistance tax credits in fiscal year 2014, according to a report by …
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LegislationRegulationsUncategorized
ACA Reporting Requirements For Large Employers
by Robert Sheenby Robert SheenCompanies with 50 or more full-time employees should be gathering information now for Affordable Care Act reports they will have to provide to the IRS and to their employees early …
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Affordable Care ActPremium Tax Credit
Tools to Estimate ACA Fees and Credits
by Robert Sheenby Robert SheenThe IRS has developed tools for employers and individuals to estimate their credits and payments related to the Affordable Care Act. The tools, available online, only provide an estimate intended …
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LegislationRegulations
Misclassifying Workers Can Trigger Two Penalties
by Robert Sheenby Robert SheenEmployers are facing increased scrutiny by the Department of Labor, the and state regulators over possible misclassification employees as independent contractors or freelance workers. A DOL memo states that the …
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RegulationsUncategorized
Balance Billing Undermines Insurance Coverage
by Robert Sheenby Robert SheenA key goal the Affordable Care Act is to make sure that the medical is covered by insurance plus the agreed-upon deductibles and copays. But for many families an illness …
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Four studies published in mid-August indicate that the Affordable Care Act is achieving its goal of reducing the number of Americans without health insurance while having no negative impact on …
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EditorialsLegislationRegulations
Why You Can’t Afford to Ignore The ACA
by Robert Sheenby Robert SheenLike all owners of small businesses, the men and women who run construction Companies had more than enough to do before the Affordable Care Act added one more task — …
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Affordable Care ActRegulations
Are You Subject to the Individual Mandate?
by Robert Sheenby Robert SheenThe IRS has issued an explanation of which U.S. citizens and foreign nationals are subject to the individual shared responsibility provision of the Affordable Care Act, or the “individual mandate.” …
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Affordable Care ActHealth Care Coverage
Uninsured Rate is 9.2%, a Record Low
by Robert Sheenby Robert SheenOnly 9.2% of Americans are without health insurance, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported. This is the lowest rate since the CDC began keeping records in 1972. The …