Under the Affordable Care Act, health insurance issuers in the individual and group markets are generally required to guarantee insurance coverage to every employer and individual that applies. Beginning in 2015, this guarantee will extend to same-sex spouses. On March 14, 2014, the Department of Health...
People typically purchase insurance because they have to, not because they want to. For the most part, consumers are happy to obtain the minimum required insurance coverage at the lowest price they can find. That is, until a claim comes along. Only then do they...
The Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services and the Treasury issued final rules implementing the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 (Act). Though interim final rules implementing the Act were published and became effective in 2010,...
On September 11, 2013, the United States Department of Labor announced that employers will not be fined or penalized under the Affordable Care Act for failing to provide employees with notice about coverage options available through the ACA’s Health Insurance Marketplace (Exchanges). This comes just...
Shortly before the July 4th holiday, the U.S. Department of the Treasury announced that enforcement of the Employer Shared Responsibility requirement under the Affordable Care Act (Act) will be delayed until 2015. The employer mandate, which generally requires employers with at least 50 full-time or...
Under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), employers are required to give employees written notice about their options for purchasing health insurance through Affordable Insurance Exchanges (Health Insurance Marketplaces). Though the original March 1, 2013 deadline was delayed, the Department of Labor (DOL) recently announced the...
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released final rules pursuant to the Affordable Care Act (Act) that are designed to help consumers shop for and compare health insurance options in the individual and small group markets. According to the HHS, these final rules...
The Affordable Care Act’s Individual Shared Responsibility provision requires nonexempt individuals to obtain minimum essential coverage for themselves and any nonexempt dependents. Starting January 1, 2014, those failing to get the required health insurance will have to pay a monthly penalty. Who is subject to the...
To help individuals understand their health insurance options under the Affordable Care Act (Act), employers are required to give employees written notice about Affordable Insurance Exchanges. The Act's March 1, 2013 deadline for employers to start giving this notice to all employees was recently pushed...
Under the Affordable Care Act’s Employer Shared Responsibility provisions, “large” employers with at least 50 full-time equivalent employees may be subject to an annual $2,000 or $3,000 penalty (tax) per qualifying employee. An employer may avoid the penalty by offering health coverage to at least...