Latest News + Info
The latest information relating to the health insurance industry.
Premiums set to rise this year in run-up to ObamaCare tax on insurance industry
Fox News reports: "While the most sweeping provisions of the health care overhaul have not yet gone into effect, plenty of Americans will still be paying higher insurance premiums this year -- as insurance companies try to preemptively cover the cost of a tax increase...
IL fails to expand Medicare under ACA
ILLINOIS: The legislature’s veto session adjourned last week with the Assembly failing to finish its preliminary actions to expand Medicaid under the ACA. The House Appropriations Committee had approved a bill that would have added 520,000 state residents to the...
PPACA: Play or pay? 7 reasons why ‘pay’ is not the easy answer
Employee Benefit Advisor reports: "With every day that goes by, the nation’s employers move a step closer to having to make a decision: Do I play or pay? Employers now have just a little more than one year to prepare themselves and their workforces for the arrival of...
IRS health care reform guidance reduces likelihood of unintended breaches
Business Insurance reports: Long-awaited Internal Revenue Service proposed regulations favorably resolve key questions about a key health care reform law provision that imposes stiff penalties on employers that do not offer coverage.“Certainty is what employers...
How small firms are gearing up for health reform
CNN Money reports: "Legions of small and midsize businesses that don't offer health insurance have to quickly come up with a game plan. Here's what some are thinking. Lenny Verkhoglaz wishes he could provide health insurance to the nearly 300 home care aides he...
Year-By-Year Timeline
Below are major provisions of the Law effective 2012 – 2018. 2012 Non-Discrimination requirements; guidance to be issued Uniform explanation of coverage; plan year beginning after September 23rd 2012 W2 reporting of health care cost 2013 FSA contributions limited to...
Health Care Reform Questions Every Employer Needs to Know
CPE hr reports: "With over 2000 pages and some 450 provisions, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (otherwise known as Health Care Reform, or “Obamacare”) is one of the most complex pieces of legislation ever signed into law. The ACA touches every sector –...
Preparations For 2014 Pay Or Play Rules Should Begin Now
JD Supra reports: "By far the most important issue for employers to consider under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is the employer “free rider penalty,” often referred to as “pay or play.” Instead of forcing employers to provide group health insurance to employees, ACA...
The federal government granted the Metropolitan Chicago Healthcare Council (MCHC) $160 million in federal CO-OP funding less than two weeks before program funding was eliminated by Congress.
ILLINOIS: The federal government granted the Metropolitan Chicago Healthcare Council (MCHC) $160 million in federal CO-OP funding less than two weeks before program funding was eliminated by Congress. The MCHC is an association of hospitals in the Chicago area. The...
Pay or Play Provisions of the Affordable Care Act
JDSupra reports: "Late last week the IRS released proposed regulations implementing the employer “play or pay” provisions in the Affordable Care Act. The rules are applicable to employers with 50 or more full-time equivalents and outline the requirements for employers...