A recent decision from the U.S. Supreme Court may make it harder for ERISA health care benefit plans to recover benefits paid when a plan participant receives a settlement from a third party. As a result, plan sponsors and administrators may wish […]
You may still be working on your 1095 forms, knowing the IRS gave you an extension until March 31 to send the 1095-Cs to employees, as required under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Some of your employees, however, are doing their taxes now […]
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires most individuals to obtain minimum essential health coverage or pay a penalty, with some exceptions. The penalty for not having coverage is to be paid when individuals file their federal tax return; for the 2015 tax […]
“Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.” —Albert Einstein Fortunately, when it comes to ACA reporting, the IRS agrees“. . . the IRS will not impose penalties under Sections 6721 and 6722 on ALE members that can […]
While you were enjoying the last of the eggnog during your holiday break, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) granted the wish of many who work in the benefits industry by postponing the Affordable Care Act (ACA) reporting deadlines for a few months. […]
There was never a dull moment in the world of employee benefits this year. Here’s a look back at key happenings via our most popular Word on Benefits blog posts of 2015. Below are the top six topics to remind you of […]
The budget and tax package passed by Congress on December 18, 2015 includes a two-year delay of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) excise tax on high-value health plans (a.k.a., the Cadillac tax). The president is expected to sign the bill into law. What […]
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires most individuals to obtain minimum essential health coverage or pay a penalty, with some exceptions. The penalty increases each year. Phil Galewitz reports in Kaiser Health News the average household penalty will be $661 for 2015 and […]
The first week of December—Time to deck the halls, shop for gifts, bake cookies . . . and, for many, time to make Flexible Spending Arrangement (FSA) elections for next year. You can almost hear employees across the country groaning as they […]
Unless a person’s job depends on knowing Health Insurance Portability and Accountability (HIPAA) privacy and security rules, the topic is what my family calls a MEGO (“my eyes glaze over”). So I was surprised when I attended “HIPAA Tune-Up for Your Health Plans,” […]
