October 2017 October was a busy month in the employee benefits world. President Trump announced a new Acting Secretary for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Eric Hargan fills the position vacated by Tom Price, who resigned in late September 2017. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued the instructions for Forms […]
Read moreTag: cost-sharing
DOL Issues Another FAQ on ACA Implementation
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has issued its 31st FAQ on the implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), dedicated to coverage of preventive services, rescissions of coverage, out-of-network emergency services, clinical trial coverage, cost-sharing limitations, the Mental Health Parity Act, and the Women’s Health and Cancer Rights Act. Preventive Services […]
Read moreBenefit and Payment Parameters Rule and HIP FAQ
The 2017 Benefit and Payment Parameters (BPP) rule, an annual rule that sets policies relating to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), has been released by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). The 2017 rule contains numerous updates, including the annual open enrollment periods for the individual market, rating areas for […]
Read moreCompliance Recap // May 2015
After a few quiet months, regulatory agencies have picked up steam, leaving employers with a significant amount of new information to digest and work through. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) was busy updating FAQs relating to reporting under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) and setting the 2016 high deductible health plan (HDHP) […]
Read moreCost Sharing Limits Changing for 2016
In the Benefit and Payment Parameters for 2016 Final Rule issued in February of 2015, federal agencies included a clarification that annual cost-sharing limitations for self-only coverage apply to all individuals, regardless of whether the individual is covered by a self-only plan or is covered by another kind of plan. Cost sharing refers to out-of-pocket […]
Read moreCompliance Recap // March 2015
Coming off a busy February, regulatory agencies were noticeably quiet during the month of March. This allowed the Supreme Court to take the spotlight with oral arguments in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) related case, King v. Burwell. A clarifying FAQ was issued regarding cost-sharing limits for individuals, which was originally announced […]
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