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Welcome to the Snell & Wilmer Benefits Blog. We will be posting about current employee benefits and executive compensation topics and issues. We invite you to contact the authors with your thoughts or questions.Blog Contributors
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Zombie Benefits – Are Health Reimbursement Arrangements (“HRAs”) Back From the Dead?
The Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) has not been kind to health reimbursement arrangements (“HRAs”). Many employers got rid of HRAs, or integrated them with a major medical plan, in order to avoid significant penalties under the ACA. At one point it appeared that after-tax HRAs did not have to comply with the ACA. However, as noted in our March 11, 2015 SW Benefits Blog, “IRS Issues More Guidance On Employers That Pay For Individual Health Insurance Policies for Employees – Gives Limited Relief to Small Employers,” the IRS clarified that even after-tax HRAs are also subject to the ACA rules. The proposed regulations that were published in the Federal Register on October 29, 2018 breathe new life into HRAs. Read More ›
Posted in Employee Benefits, Health & Welfare Plans
| Tagged ACA, cafeteria plan, ERISA, Excepted HRA, IHIC, premium tax credit, QSEHRA, retiree medical hrs
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You Received a Health Insurance Marketplace Notice from HHS – Now What?
Take a deep breath. The HHS Health Insurance Marketplace Notice (the “Notice”) may seem to be a nuisance, but it does not necessarily mean that you will be subject to employer shared responsibility penalties.
First, the IRS, not HHS, assesses employer shared responsibility penalties, and the IRS does so only after it provides employers with: (1) a “certification” that one or more employees received a premium tax credit; and (2) an opportunity to respond to the certification.
Second, an individual may have incorrectly reported on his application that he was eligible for a premium tax credit (or cost-sharing reductions) because: (1) he did not receive an offer of health coverage from you; (2) he did receive an offer of health coverage from you, but it was unaffordable or it failed to provide minimum value, or (3) he was in a waiting period and was unable to enroll in health care coverage. Read More ›
Posted in Employee Benefits, Health & Welfare Plans, Health Care Reform
| Tagged Checklist, employer shared responsibility, HHS, Insurance Marketplace, Insurance Marketplace Notice, IRS, Notice, premium tax credit
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