legislation
The state of Illinois has passed a law known as the Transportation Benefits Program Act which will require some employers in the Chicago metropolitan area to offer pre-tax transportation benefits to their employees.
The Department of Labor (DOL) issued an FAQ on April 7, 2021 relative to the application of COBRA subsidies authorized under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA). The information below summarizes the content of the FAQ.
Model Notices
The DOL has provided the following model notices:
On March 11, 2021, President Joseph Biden signed into law the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). ARPA is the third stimulus package signed into law in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Under ARPA, two significant provisions were included that will help more Americans obtain and pay for health insurance coverage.
Joseph Biden was sworn in as the 46th President of the United States less than one week ago, and he has already introduced his ideas for a third economic stimulus package.
The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 was signed into law on December 27, 2020. As part of the law, a new stimulus package was included that impacts Health and Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts (Health and Dependent Care FSAs).
President Donald Trump signed a new stimulus bill into law on December 27, 2020 which will provide direct payments to eligible individuals and loans to small businesses, among other things. Among those other things are temporary and optional changes that employers can implement to Health and Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts (Health FSAs and Dependent Care FSAs).
New Jersey has become the first state to require certain employers to offer qualified transportation benefits (i.e. Commuter Plans) to employees. Some metropolitan areas including New York City, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington D.C. have passed similar laws that require certain employers to make Commuter Plans available to their employees, but no state has mandated this benefit until now.
Last December, a federal judge in Texas District Court ruled that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was unconstitutional. The decision came in response to a lawsuit filed by 20 Republican state attorneys general. These attorneys general argued that the ACA was unconstitutional because there is no longer a penalty associated with the Individual Mandate, and the judge agreed.
The term “Medicare for All” has been making headlines recently. Democrats across the country have made this concept a central part of their platforms, and polls have shown that more than half of Americans are in favor of it.
But what does it really mean? Well, the best answer is that it means different things to different people.
Last Friday, a federal judge in Texas ruled the Affordable Care Act (a.k.a. Obamacare) unconstitutional.
The judge’s decision came in response to a lawsuit filed by 20 Republican state attorneys general earlier this year. The lawsuit was filed after the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act zeroed out the Individual Mandate penalty. The lawsuit claimed the Individual Mandate was so essential to Obamacare, and without it, all of Obamacare must go. The judge agreed.
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