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IRS Releases ACA Pay-or-Play Penalties for 2025 The IRS recently released updated penalty amounts for 2025 related to the employer shared responsibility (pay-or-play) rules under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). For calendar year 2025, the adjusted $2,000 penalty amount is $2,900, and the adjusted $3,000 penalty amount is $4,350. This is a decrease from the … Continued
IRS Announces Employee Benefit Plan Limits for 2024 Many employee benefits are subject to annual dollar limits that are updated for inflation before the beginning of each calendar year. Most of these annual dollar limits will increase in 2024. Note that some benefit limits are not adjusted for inflation, such as the contribution limit for … Continued
Final Forms and Instructions for 2023 ACA Reporting Released The IRS has released final 2023 forms and instructions for reporting under Internal Revenue Code Sections 6055 and 6056: 2023 Forms 1094-B and 1095-B (and instructions) will be used by providers of minimum essential coverage, including self-insured plan sponsors that are not applicable large employers (ALEs), … Continued
ACA’s Pay or Play Affordability Percentage Decreases for 2024 On Aug. 23, 2023, the IRS released the affordability percentage threshold for 2024 plan years under the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) pay or play rules. For plan years beginning in 2024, employer-sponsored coverage will be considered affordable under the ACA’s pay or play rules if the … Continued
Gag Clause Attestations Are Due by Dec. 31, 2023 On Feb. 23, 2023, the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services and the Treasury (Departments) issued FAQs on the prohibition of gag clauses under the transparency provisions of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (CAA). These FAQs require health plans and health insurance issuers to submit … Continued
When the COVID-19 public health emergency and national emergency were declared in 2020, no one anticipated they would still be in place in 2023. On January 30, 2023, the President announced the intent to end the emergencies on May 11, 2023. The impact of the emergencies on employer-sponsored benefits affected certain coverages, reimbursements, and timelines. … Continued
By way of background, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) created the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) to study clinical effectiveness and health outcomes. To finance the Institute’s work, a small annual fee—commonly called the PCORI fee—is charged on group health plans. Grandfathered health plans are not exempt. Most employers do not have to take any … Continued
The Affordable Care Act’s employer shared responsibility provision — often called the employer mandate or “play or pay” — requires large employers to offer health coverage to their full-time employees or face a potential penalty. (Employers with fewer than 50 full-time and full-time-equivalent employees are exempt.) Large employers can avoid the risk of any play … Continued
Do you offer coverage to your employees through a self-insured group health plan? Do you sponsor a Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA)? If so, do you know whether your plan or HRA is subject to the annual Patient-Centered Research Outcomes Institute (PCORI) fee? This article answers frequently-asked questions about the PCORI fee, which plans are affected, … Continued
In March, a federal district court struck down a Department of Labor (DOL) Rule on Association Health Plans (AHPs). Issued in 2018, the DOL rule aimed to expand the availability of AHPs to a greater number of small businesses as an alternative to standard ACA-compliant small group insurance policies. For details, see our June 2018 … Continued