The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has finalized regulations designed to help stabilize the individual and small group health insurance markets and, in particular, the health insurance exchanges...more
As has been widely reported, proponents of the American Health Care Act withdrew the bill from consideration before the full House of Representatives could vote on it last Friday. Early statements suggest there is no...more
The House Ways and Means and Energy and Commerce Committees have released, in two parts, budget reconciliation legislation, the first steps of Congress' proposal to "repeal and replace" the Affordable Care Act. Reconciliation...more
3/8/2017
/ Abortion ,
Affordable Care Act ,
Cadillac Tax ,
Cost-Sharing ,
Employer Mandates ,
Health Insurance ,
Health Savings Accounts ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Individual Mandate ,
Medicaid ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Repeal ,
Tax Credits ,
Trump Administration ,
Ways and Means Committee
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the IRS have each published guidance on matters arising under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). It is too early to tell whether these measures—some of the first guidance...more
Changes are imminent for the Affordable Care Act and a range of other laws and regulations affecting the health care industry. Ballard Spahr attorneys established a Health Care Reform Initiative in 2008 to monitor and analyze...more
1/20/2017
/ AARP ,
Abortion ,
Affordable Care Act ,
Age Discrimination ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Birth Control ,
Claim Procedures ,
COBRA ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disability Benefits ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Discrimination ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Mandates ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Form 1094 ,
Form 1095 ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Health Insurance ,
Health Plan Sponsors ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
HRA ,
IRS ,
National Origin Discrimination ,
Public Health Insurance Marketplace ,
Religious Exemption ,
Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Section 1557 ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Title IX ,
Trump Administration ,
Wellness Programs ,
Women's Preventable Healthcare Mandates
The Cures Act aims to increase the speed by which new drugs are brought to market by streamlining clinical trials, allowing the use of patient data in the regulatory review process, and modernizing U.S. Food and Drug...more
12/16/2016
/ 21st Century Cures Initiative ,
Addiction Equity Act ,
Affordable Care Act ,
Benefit Plan Reimbursements ,
Clinical Trials ,
Employee Benefits ,
Federal Funding ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance ,
Healthcare ,
Medicaid ,
Medical Devices ,
Medical Research ,
Medicare ,
Mental Health ,
Mental Health Parity Rule ,
New Legislation ,
Obama Administration ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Research and Development
The IRS has extended the deadline for furnishing 2016 Forms 1095-C and 1095-B to individuals by 30 days to March 2, 2017. The reprieve offers welcome relief to employers, health insurers, and other plan sponsors who would...more
11/21/2016
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Deadlines ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Mandates ,
Form 1094 ,
Form 1095 ,
Health Insurance ,
Healthcare ,
IRS ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Time Extensions
The U.S. Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and the Treasury have issued a set of Frequently Asked Questions and Answers that, among other things, implement certain of the recommendations included in a report...more
11/7/2016
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Data Collection ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Health Insurance ,
Healthcare ,
Mental Health Parity Rule ,
MHPAEA ,
Opioid ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Tobacco ,
Tobacco-Cessation
The U.S. Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and the Treasury have finalized regulations under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that address certain exceptions under the ACA. Among other things, the regulations...more
In recently issued guidance, the U.S. Departments of Treasury, Labor, and Health and Human Services indicated that they will indefinitely extend relief to colleges and universities that subsidize the cost of individual...more
As we start looking forward to 2017, and as many employers head into annual enrollment periods this fall, employers need to be aware of recent changes in the law that have a significant impact on health benefit plans. This...more
9/28/2016
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Mandates ,
Form 1094 ,
Form 1095 ,
Genetic Discrimination ,
GINA ,
Health Insurance ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
HIPAA Audits ,
IRS ,
Non-Discrimination Rules ,
Opt-Outs ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Wellness Programs
The IRS has issued proposed regulations on the individual mandate reporting requirements under section 6055 of the Internal Revenue Code. To a significant degree, the new regulations reflect guidance previously published by...more
8/4/2016
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Health Insurance ,
Healthcare ,
Individual Mandate ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
IRS ,
Minimum Essential Coverage ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Section 6055 ,
Section 6056
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has issued final regulations under Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) which prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, or...more
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has published final regulations and a set of questions and answers on how the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) applies to employer-sponsored wellness programs that offer...more
In today's economy, organizations are increasingly looking to nontraditional sources of labor, including use of leased, outsourced, and other staffing arrangements that involve individuals who may not be on the organization's...more
4/7/2016
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Indemnification ,
Joint Employers ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Staffing Agencies ,
Title VII ,
Wage and Hour ,
Young Lawyers
Recognizing that many employers and others may need additional time to prepare reports under new Affordable Care Act requirements, the IRS has announced an automatic extension of the deadline for delivering these reports. As...more
Following up on the issuance of final regulations on various market reform provisions under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the IRS has issued a notice with Questions and Answers that take a more detailed look at specific ACA...more
The IRS has finalized the 2015 forms and instructions for reporting under the individual and employer mandates and issued additional guidance on these new reporting requirements. The following forms are now available...more
10/1/2015
/ Affordable Care Act ,
COBRA ,
Compliance ,
Employer Mandates ,
Form 1094 ,
Form 1095 ,
Health Insurance ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
HRA ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
IRS ,
Reimbursements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Required Forms ,
TRICARE ,
Veterans Administration
The IRS has completed drafts of the 2015 forms and instructions for employers, insurers, and other health plan sponsors to use to meet their reporting obligations for the employer and individual mandates under the Affordable...more
The Internal Revenue Service has issued a new notice addressing issues relating to future rules governing the calculation and payment of the so-called “Cadillac tax” under the Affordable Care Act. Beginning in 2018, the ACA...more
The U.S. Departments of Treasury, Labor (DOL) and Health and Human Services (HHS) have issued interim final regulations and Frequently Asked Questions and Answers on the cost-free coverage of preventive services under the...more
8/3/2015
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Burwell v Hobby Lobby ,
Closely Held Businesses ,
Contraceptive Coverage Mandate ,
Corporate Governance ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Health Insurance ,
Healthcare ,
Hobby Lobby ,
Preventive Health Care ,
Privately Held Corporations ,
Religious Institutions ,
U.S. Treasury
In a much-anticipated decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled today that individuals who enroll for coverage in a health insurance exchange may qualify for a subsidy to make that coverage more affordable, regardless of whether...more
The U.S. Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and the Treasury have jointly issued a new set of FAQs that clarifies the application of the rules establishing cost-sharing limits. For 2016, non-grandfathered group...more
Recent guidance issued jointly by the U.S. Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and the Treasury clarifies how the Affordable Care Act's requirement to provide cost-free coverage for preventive care applies to...more
After much silence, some litigation, and recent congressional hearings, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has at long last proposed regulations (together with a fact sheet and set of frequently asked...more