Affordable Care Act (ACA) Archives

Using Spousal Surcharges and Carve-Outs as Health Cost Management Strategies

Anne Newhouse, CEBS

25 Sep 202425 Sep 2024

With open enrollment right around the corner, employers are already contemplating strategies to help lower their health plan costs. Spousal surcharges or carve-outs are two options, but how prevalent are they? Surcharge vs. Carve-Out A spousal surcharge is an additional employee contribution […]

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ACA Litigation Update: Preventive Services Requirements Upheld

Jenny Gartman, CEBS

12 Jul 202412 Jul 2024

What’s new? On June 21, 2024, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in Braidwood v. Becerra that the lower court had overreached when it struck down the Affordable Care Act (ACA) preventive services mandate nationwide. The Fifth Circuit held that federal […]

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**ACA Preventive Services Requirements Struck Down: Braidwood Management v. Becerra Explainer**

Jenny Gartman, CEBS

26 Apr 202326 Apr 2023

As a result of ongoing litigation, the Departments of Labor (DOL), Health and Human Services (HHS), and the Treasury (the departments) cannot enforce some Affordable Care Act (ACA) preventive care requirements, but the departments strongly encourage plan sponsors to keep coverage without […]

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Supporting Working Parents

Eli Argueta

04 Oct 202227 Jan 2023

Employer considerations for working parents includes a review of current laws and best practices when supporting nursing mothers.

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Coverage for COVID-19 Testing after FAQs 51 and 52 Released

Anne Newhouse, CEBS

08 Mar 202226 Apr 2022

Early in 2022, the Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS), Labor, and Treasury (the Departments) issued two sets of guidance in the form of frequently asked questions (FAQ) 51 (released January 10, 2022) and 52 (released February 4, 2022) explaining how […]

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Weighing the Value of ACA Grandfathered Status

Kathy Bergstrom, CEBS

02 Sep 202101 Sep 2021

When the Affordable Care Act (ACA) went into effect in 2010, health and welfare plans had the option to maintain grandfathered status, making plans exempt from some ACA requirements. To retain grandfathering, plans have had to limit certain benefit plan design and […]

Affordable Care Act (ACA) Employee Benefits Health Care Legislative U.S.

U.S. Supreme Court Upholds Affordable Care Act

Amanda Wilke, CEBS

17 Jun 202117 Jun 2021

In December 2017, Congress passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which dropped the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) individual mandate penalty to $0, effective January 1, 2019. A group of states led by Texas and two private citizens argued that since the […]

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2020 Benefits Year in Review

Anne Patterson

22 Dec 202022 Dec 2020

If this year has proven anything, it’s that nobody has a crystal ball (or one that works anyway!) Last December 2020, the Talking Benefits podcast team made some predictions for the year ahead. Though we were widely off, we spent the latest […]

Affordable Care Act (ACA) Employee Benefits Health Care Legislative U.S.

Your California v. Texas Explainer

Julie Stich, CEBS

19 Nov 202017 Jun 2021

On November 10, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case California v. Texas. Because this is a major case impacting benefits, we wanted to give you some background. What is the legal issue in California v. Texas? This […]

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Status of the State Individual Health Insurance Coverage Mandates

Anne Newhouse, CEBS

13 Feb 202020 Mar 2020

As the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) requirement for individuals to have health insurance coverage, known as the individual mandate, has faced challenges over the last few years, a growing number of states have stepped in to enact their own health care coverage […]