Affordable Care Act
Posted April 12th, 2017 in Producers, Employers, Individuals
Last week, House Republicans renewed their efforts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Several closed-door meetings were held in an attempt to devise a plan that would appease both Conservative and Moderate Republicans. Progress is believed to have been made, but there is still not a bill that would pass the House. ACA repeal efforts are likely on a temporary hold as House members have returned to their home states for a two-week Spring recess.
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It seemed all but certain that the Affordable Care Act (ACA), or at least key parts of it, would be quickly repealed after the most recent election.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 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 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
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:
People who have access to affordable coverage from their employer are ineligible to receive subsidies through the Health Insurance Marketplace, also known as the Exchange. For 2017, coverage is considered affordable if the employee’s share of premium for self-only coverage is 9.69% or less of their household modified adjusted gross income.
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires certain entities to report information to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) relative to health insurance coverage. The reporting is generally completed by insurance companies, government-run Exchanges and applicable large employers. The reporting helps the IRS enforce three key provisions of the ACA:
- Most U.S. citizens and lawfully present residents must have health insurance or pay a penalty. This is referred to as the Individual Mandate. The reporting helps the IRS understand who has health insurance coverage.
Posted September 26th, 2016 in Producers, Employers, Individuals
The cornerstone of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is arguably the Health Insurance Marketplaces, also referred to as the Exchanges. Effective 2014, previously uninsurable individuals could start enrolling in a health insurance plan without regard to their medical history, and people who had trouble affording coverage could receive subsidies to reduce their out-of-pocket costs and/or premiums if certain requirements could be met.
Posted September 6th, 2016 in Producers, Employers, Individuals
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) continues to evolve. Here are 10 changes expected to take effect in 2017.
Posted July 28th, 2016 in Producers, Employers, Individuals
There has been a lot of shake up in the recent weeks and months as it relates to health insurance options available in the individual marketplace. UnitedHealthcare (UHC) announced it would only offer individual plan options in three states next year. Humana also announced they would be limiting the number of states it offers individual plans in next year. More recently, three additional CO-OPs in Connecticut, Illinois and Oregon announced their closures by the end of the year.
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