ACA

Posted March 8th, 2017 in Producers, Employers, Individuals
On February 24th, Politico got its hands on a rough draft version of a Republican bill that would repeal several key parts of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), and they leaked it to the public. Naturally, Democrats were disgusted by the contents of the bill, but the more interesting thing was even several Republicans said they wouldn’t vote in support of this bill. 
 
Posted February 28th, 2017 in Producers, Employers, Individuals
It seemed all but certain that the Affordable Care Act (ACA), or at least key parts of it, would be quickly repealed after the most recent election. With a Republican-controlled House, Republican-controlled Senate, and a Republican President, it should be easy to repeal the ACA….right? Not so fast! Republicans have four major hurdles to overcome.
 
1) Republicans vs. Democrats
Posted February 16th, 2017 in Producers, Employers, Individuals

Approximately 12.2 million people signed up for coverage through federal and state-run Exchanges during the 2017 open enrollment period which ended on January 31st.

Posted January 31st, 2017 in Producers, Employers, Individuals
Republican leaders held a retreat in Philadelphia last week to discuss their top priorities, and of course, discussion about the repeal and replacement of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was on their to-do list. Although Republicans did not agree on a formal repeal and replacement strategy, they did lay out a timeline for their priorities. This includes a goal of introducing repeal and replacement legislation on the House floor by the end of March. It sounds like we are still at least a couple more months away from knowing the fate of the ACA.
 
Posted January 24th, 2017 in Producers, Employers, Individuals
Just hours after being sworn in as President of the United States, Donald Trump signed an executive order which instructs the Departments of Health and Human Services, Treasury and other agencies who are involved in administering the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to “waive, defer, grant exemptions from, or delay the implementation of any provision or requirement of the Act that would impose a fiscal burden on any State or a cost, fee, tax, penalty, or regulatory burden on individuals, families, healthcare providers, health insurers, patients, recipients of healthcare services, purchasers of h
Posted January 18th, 2017 in Producers, Employers, Individuals
The term “excepted benefit” is used very frequently in the health insurance industry, but several people have a hard time understanding what that term actually means. In reality, it’s not that hard of a term to understand once it’s explained in plain English. 
 
Posted January 13th, 2017 in Producers, Employers, Individuals
Nothing has changed yet. Nothing will change until after Donald Trump is sworn in as President on January 20th.
Posted December 30th, 2016 in Producers, Employers, Individuals
Last week, the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and the Treasury (collectively the “Departments”) issued new guidance as the Affordable Care Act (ACA) continues to evolve.
 
 The guidance has been summarized into three different categories shown below:
 
1. Group Health Plans
 
Posted December 20th, 2016 in Producers, Employers, Individuals
The health insurance industry saw quite the year in 2016. Here are some of the highlights:
 
  1. ACA reporting had to be submitted for the first time which was an administrative struggle for several employers, but most were able to find a way to get it completed.
     
  2. Several Co-Ops, including Land of Lincoln Health, were forced to shut down due to solvency problems. 
     
  3. Most insurers reduced or eliminated commissions on the sale of individual health insurance plans as a result of profit losses.
     
Posted November 30th, 2016 in Producers, Employers
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued Notice 2016-70 on November 18, 2016 which provides some relief to insurers, employers and other entities subject to ACA reporting requirements under Code Section 6055 and 6056. The Notice does not extend the due date of the filing requirement for the 2016 year, but it does extend the due date in which copies of the reporting forms must be provided to employees and individuals. The due dates are now as follows:
 

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