Using Affordability Safe Harbors to Avoid ACA Penalties The Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires applicable large employers (ALEs) to offer affordable, minimum-value health coverage to their full-time employees (and dependents) or risk paying a penalty to the IRS. This employer mandate is also known as the “pay-or-play” rules. An ALE is an employer with [...]
U.S. Supreme Court Overrules Chevron Deference On June 28, 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo and Relentless Inc. v. Department of Commerce. The Court overruled its 1984 decision in Chevron, U.S.A. Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council Inc., which held that courts should defer to federal [...]
5th Circuit Requires Health Plans to Continue Providing Free Preventive Care On June 21, 2024, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a key component of the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) preventive care mandate is unconstitutional. However, in a decision it referred to as a “mixed bag,” the 5th Circuit limited its [...]
IRS Announces Excepted Benefit HRA Limit for 2025 The IRS has released the inflation-adjusted limit for excepted benefit health reimbursement arrangements (EBHRAs) for plan years beginning on or after Jan. 1, 2025. Effective for 2025 plan years, the maximum annual employer contribution for an EBHRA will increase to $2,150 (up from $2,100 for plan [...]
Preparing for California’s Workplace Violence Prevention Law On Sept. 30, 2023, California enacted the California Workplace Violence Prevention Law (WVPL), enforced by the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA). The WVPL takes effect on July 1, 2024, and requires most employers in the state to comply with expansive workplace violence prevention requirements. [...]
Preparing for the Corporate Transparency Act The Corporate Transparency Act (CTA), which became effective Jan. 1, 2024, requires certain business entities, or CTA “reporting companies,” to report their beneficial ownership information (BOI) and certain related information to the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). The CTA aims to combat illicit financial [...]
HSA/HDHP Limits Will Increase for 2025 On May 9, 2024, the IRS released Revenue Procedure 2024-25 to provide the inflation-adjusted limits for health savings accounts (HSAs) and high deductible health plans (HDHPs) for 2025. The IRS is required to publish these limits by June 1 of each year. These limits include the following: The [...]
HHS Updates HIPAA FAQs Regarding Change Healthcare Cybersecurity Incident On May 31, 2024, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) updated its frequently asked questions (FAQs) regarding HIPAA and the recent cybersecurity incident involving Change Healthcare, a unit of UnitedHealth Group. OCR enforces the HIPAA Privacy, Security [...]
Employer Obligation to Designate FMLA Leave The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) provides eligible employees with unpaid, job-protected leave for specified family and medical reasons. Eligible employees may take up to 12 weeks of leave (26 weeks for military caregiver leave) each year for FMLA-qualifying reasons. Because FMLA leave is unpaid, employees often [...]
Drug Test Cheating Surged in 2023 The rate of employees tampering with drug tests reached new highs in 2023, according to a report from health data analytics firm Quest Diagnostics. The percentage of tests that showed signs of tampering in 2023 was over six times greater than in 2022. Quest Diagnostics reported that the [...]
