Health Reform Moves to the Senate

  • On May 12, 2017
Now that the United States House of Representatives has passed the American Health Care Act (AHCA), action on repealing, replacing or repairing the current health reform law has moved to the United States Senate.  Instead of just making changes to the House-passed legislation, the leadership of the upper chamber has made it clear that they […]
Read More

Essential Health Benefits Explained

  • On April 14, 2017
As Congress and President Trump continue efforts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the law’s mandate that some health plans cover essential health benefits (EHBs) has become a focal point of health reform negotiations. Proponents of eliminating or changing EHBs argue they are artificially driving up the cost of private health insurance […]
Read More

Health Reform Change May Have Slowed Down, but It Has Not Stopped

  • On March 27, 2017
Last week, President Trump and the Republican-controlled Congress halted their immediate efforts to change the Affordable Care Act (ACA).  While we now know that sweeping health policy changes like the elimination of the employer mandate will not occur in the near future, we are hearing that other important health policy actions are still underway.  As […]
Read More

New SBC Template and Glossary Must Be Used Beginning April 1, 2017

  • On March 17, 2017
One ACA requirement for health insurers and employer-sponsored group benefit plans that remains effective is the requirement to provide enrollees and applicants with a Summary of Benefits and Coverage (SBC) and a uniform glossary of common health plan terms.  The SBC is a short document that explains all of a health plan’s basic coverage terms […]
Read More

Congress and the Trump Administration Begin Work on Federal Health Reform Change

  • On March 17, 2017
Formal work on national health care reform is well underway now that the congressional leadership of the Republican Party has released draft legislation to replace parts of the Affordable Care Act (ACA).  Health policy ideas are flying around Washington, DC, and in the news there is a tremendous amount of chatter and speculation about what […]
Read More

House GOP Releases First Draft of Health Reform Repeal/Replace Measure

  • On March 7, 2017
On Monday evening, March 6, 2017 the House Republican leadership unveiled its first official version of legislation to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act.  Known as the American Health Care Act, the House Ways and Means and Energy and Commerce Committees will begin their work on “marking up” the legislation this week. See the […]
Read More

Health Reform Changes Are A Hot Topic, But No Action Items Yet

  • On February 17, 2017
While there is lots of talk in Washington, D.C. these days about potential repeal, replacement, and/or rebuilding of the health reform law, so far there has been no action that would actually change any current requirements for employer group benefit plans. In fact, employer plans need to be very mindful of some key looming compliance […]
Read More

President Trump Signs Executive Order on Health Reform

  • On January 23, 2017
On Friday evening, as one of his first acts as President, Donald Trump signed an executive order concerning his Administration’s intentions with regard to the Affordable Care Act (ACA).   The one-page order does not change any existing provisions of the law or its related regulations, or suspend any current requirements for individuals, employers or other […]
Read More

Health Reform Legislative and Regulatory Changes on the Horizon

  • On January 13, 2017
The 115th Congress has been sworn in and they have already taken some initial action to change the health care landscape.  On Tuesday, January 3, Senator Mike Enzi (R-WY) Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee formally started the process by introducing a resolution that would allow for the repeal of sections of the Affordable Care […]
Read More

New Final Regulations to Impact Employer-Sponsored Health Benefit Plans

  • On January 13, 2017
In the last few weeks, the Obama Administration issued a flurry of new final regulations, FAQs, and other guidance that will impact employer-sponsored health plans.  Since all of these requirements and guidance will be both finalized and effective before January 20 (even the ones that will impact the 2018 plan year), they cannot be simply […]
Read More

IRS Partially Extends Employer Reporting Deadlines

  • On November 21, 2016
Will Keep Good Faith Compliance Standard for 2016 Reporting Done in 2017 On Friday, November 18, the Internal Revenue Service released Notice 2016-70 which extends the due date for furnishing to individuals the 2016 Form 1095-B, Health Coverage, and the 2016 Form 1095-C, Employer-Provided Health Insurance Offer and Coverage, from January 31, 2017, to March […]
Read More

The Future of the Health Care Reform

  • On November 15, 2016
As President-Elect Donald Trump’s administration begins to take form, so does the new health policy agenda.  A new website has gone live for the Trump presidential transition team, and on it the President-Elect promises to replace the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) with a new plan that will revive high-risk pools for people with expensive […]
Read More

Nondiscrimination in Health Program Rules Will Impact Certain 2017 Benefit Plans

  • On November 11, 2016
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a final rule implementing Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) regarding nondiscrimination in federally funded health programs. Effective the first day of plan years beginning on or after January 1, 2017, the final rule: Prohibits discrimination in health care on the basis of race, color, […]
Read More

Election Results Mean Both Change and Consistency Regarding Employee Benefits

  • On November 11, 2016
Final Election Day results are in and one thing is very clear–change was the top priority of American voters.  It is our goal at Kistler Tiffany Benefits to keep our clients fully engaged and informed about any new market, legislative, or regulatory changes that may be ahead. We will also continue working in Washington with […]
Read More

Health FSA Limit Will Increase in 2017

  • On October 28, 2016
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) imposes a dollar limit on employees’ salary reduction contributions to health flexible spending accounts (FSAs) offered under cafeteria plans. This dollar limit is indexed for cost-of-living adjustments and may be increased each year. On Oct. 25, 2016, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released Revenue Procedure 2016-55 (Rev. Proc. 16-55). Rev. […]
Read More

Time to Prepare for 2016 ACA Reporting

  • On September 19, 2016
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has released 2016 draft forms for reporting under Internal Revenue Code (Code) Sections 6055 and 6056. Forms 1094-B and 1095-B will be used by entities reporting under Section 6055, including self-insured plan sponsors that are not applicable large employers (ALEs). Draft instructions were released on Aug. 10, 2016.  NOTE: An […]
Read More

Transitional Reinsurance Fee for Self-Insured Plans – Nov. 15, 2016

  • On September 15, 2016
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) established three risk-spreading programs to provide payments to health insurance issuers that cover higher-risk populations and to more evenly spread the financial risk carried by issuers: A transitional reinsurance program; A temporary risk corridor program; and A permanent risk adjustment program. The transitional reinsurance program is intended to help stabilize […]
Read More

IRS Issues Opt-out Payment Proposed Rules

  • On August 11, 2016
On July 8, 2016, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued proposed regulations on the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) premium tax credit and individual mandate. The regulations also impact employers through the employer shared responsibility rules (“Pay-or-Play”). The proposed regulations focus primarily on the effect of opt-out payments on the affordability of employer-sponsored coverage: 1. Opt-out […]
Read More

Pay or Play—Impact on Fringe Benefit Rules for Federal Contract Workers

  • On July 14, 2016
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires applicable large employers (ALEs)—e.g., employers who averaged 50 or more full-time employees including full-time equivalents during calendar year 2015—to offer affordable, minimum value health coverage to their full-time employees or pay a penalty. This employer mandate is also known as the “employer shared responsibility” or “pay or play” rules. […]
Read More