Healthcare plans

Despite predictions that private exchange enrollment will hit 30 million in 2017, employers remain cautious about them, including those early adopters who say they had little choice but to move to one.

If your flexible spending account plan had a year-end deadline of Dec. 31, employees could still have more time to use their leftover FSA funds, if you offer a grace period.

HSS should extend these plans to employers with fewer than 100 employees as scheduled, Small Business Majority CEO says.

A Supreme Court decision in favor of the petitioner in King v. Burwell could trigger the end of the employer mandate, legal experts say, but it’s far from certain how the court will decide.

Commentary: HR professionals must band together to share how we are handling our ACA reporting responsibilities and to pressure our vendor suppliers for better solutions and continued innovation, says Lockton's Matthew Kaiser.

Industry analysts praise one-stop shopping tools as a positive reason why many employers are moving to private exchanges. At Xerox’s Buck Consultants, 100% of employees enrolling through the company’s exchange engaged with its technology — and made an average of 11.5 return visits, says Sherri Brockhorst, leader of the RightOpt exchange at Buck.

The Supreme Court today will hear arguments in King v. Burwell, the highly anticipated case challenging the legality of subsidies available for individuals purchasing health insurance on the federal exchange under the Affordable Care Act.

Commentary: There’s a lot for your clients to consider when carefully managing intermittent leaves. The Standard's Lincoln Dirks goes in-depth on the paperwork that outlines the parameters for an absence — certifications and recertifications.

Supreme Court to hear oral arguments this week in a case challenging the legality of tax credits to purchase health insurance under the ACA.

Commentary: Last month reminded blogger David C. Smith of the last 10 minutes of The Godfather and The Godfather Part II. In the last four weeks, Treasury, Labor and Health and Human Services settled their business in a concerted effort to make clear what would be permitted or prohibited when it came to compliance with the law.

Some of the nation’s most foremost authorities on health economics and policy learned a painful – and ironic – lesson about their respective area of expertise recently when they were forced to pay more for their health care in 2015.

HHS has issued a final rule saying it will not qualify employer-sponsored health plans that fail to cover inpatient hospitalization as meeting the minimum value health plan standard under the ACA.

In a Congressional committee hearing Thursday, Kevin Counihan, the CEO of Healthcare.gov, was repeatedly grilled by members of Congress for details on enrollments, tax data and coverage for immigrants, but failed to provide answers to many questions asked.

Back in November, the DOL issued FAQ Part 22, which directly addresses some recent efforts by employers to reimburse employees for participation in the exchange through Code Section 105, or through some type of other arrangement.

Employers collectively pay for more than one-third of all deliveries in the U.S., through employer-sponsored health insurance plans. According to new data, there are many opportunities for improvements that would save lives and money.

Workers in legal, same-sex marriages – no matter what state they live in – will now have the same rights as those in opposite-sex marriages to federal job-protected leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act

Having more choices is a priority, but most workers are confident in their employer’s selection, study finds.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on Friday morning announced it will implement a special enrollment period for individuals who learn, at the time they file their taxes, of the Affordable Care Act-mandated tax penalty for not having health insurance coverage.

As the Supreme Court gets set to hear oral arguments next month in King v. Burwell, a case challenging the permissibility of subsidies to those who purchase health insurance on the federal exchange, states with hybrid exchanges could face a difficult decision should the Supreme Court ultimately rule the use of tax credits on the federal exchange is impermissible.

Both the Obama administration and states that run their own health insurance marketplaces are considering an extra enrollment period for tax filers who learn they owe a fine for not carrying insurance.