The time of “what-ifs” for employers ended Thursday as the U.S. Supreme Court issued its ruling upholding the state subsidies challenged in King v. Burwell, and employers should maintain business as usual going forward, according to most industry observers. The court ruled 6-3 that contested language in the Affordable Care Act allows the administration to […]
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The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that subsidies used to purchase health insurance on the federally facilitated marketplace are legal. The 6-3 decision in King v. Burwell means that tax credits continue to be valid in the 34 FFM states. Now, it’s time to shift the conversation about the Affordable Care Act to focus on substance, Department of […]
The U.S. Department of Treasury today released proposed and temporary regulations in support of the implementation of the Kline-Miller Multiemployer Pension Reform Act of 2014. The controversial law, passed as part of the government’s omnibus spending bill in the waning hours of the last Congress, established a new process for the most critically underfunded multiemployer […]
(Bloomberg) — Several Republican senators said they would support legislation to ensure Americans don’t lose health insurance subsidies if the Supreme Court rules that the funds are no longer available in more than half the United States. Republican senators who attended a closed-door meeting on Wednesday, intended to discuss a legislative response to the upcoming […]
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has proposed rules addressing the extent to which employers may offer incentives to promote participation in wellness programs without violating the Americans with Disabilities Act. The ADA Proposed Rules apply if a wellness program includes disability-related inquiries or medical examinations, including inquiries or examinations that are part of a health […]
In the eight states that have announced their 2016 proposed rates for purchasing coverage on the public health care exchanges, the average increase for a silver plan is 5.8%. The numbers vary greatly by state, from a 12% increase in Oregon to a 5.3% decrease in Michigan, according to an analysis by health advisory company […]
Small-size employers with between 51 and 100 employees currently in large-business group health plans will have to transition to small-business group plans upon their renewal on or after Jan. 1, 2016. “Small businesses were facing high costs of health insurance, less competition and fewer options. We had more and more small business dropping out of […]
The Oregon Insurance Division says it is pushing health insurers to charge higher individual rates in 2016 because they are reporting huge underwriting losses for 2014. The insurers collected just $703 million in premiums for 2014 and spent $830 million on 2014 claims, officials say. Laura Cali, the Oregon insurance commissioner, said in her statement […]
No one really knows whether the Obama administration will stick to its current Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) procedural rules, or whether Congress will let the administration stick to them. If the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) implements the current rules as planned, insurers will have to send 1095-B coverage notice forms for the […]
A legislation proposal by Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) and 31 Republicans that would temporarily preserve federal premium subsidies for Healthcare.gov enrollees through August 2017 if the Supreme Court rules them unconstitutional in King v. Burwell would simply bandage a festering wound. That’s the conclusion of a recent American Academy of Actuaries analysis. The bill, “Preserving […]