Health and Welfare Plans Archives - Page 58 of 128

Accelerating Deductions for Compensation and Benefits if Corporate Tax Rates Are Reduced

by Stephen Pavlick | Jan 17, 2017 | Benefit Controversies, Health and Welfare Plans, Retirement Plans

President-elect Trump proposes to reduce the maximum corporate income tax rate from 35 percent to 15 percent. While the effective date of any rate reduction is uncertain, it likely will not occur before 2018. Deductions claimed when tax rates are 35 percent are worth 20 percent more to the taxpayer than if the same deduction is claimed when rates are 15 percent. Thus, a deduction for a $10 million pension contribution is worth an additional $2 million if claimed in 2017 when the tax rate is 35 percent than if claimed in 2018 when the tax rate is 15 percent.

This article, Accelerating Deductions for Compensation and Benefits if Corporate Tax Rates Are Reduced, discusses how bonus accruals, welfare benefits and pension contributions that might be deducted in 2017 rather than 2018 without much, if any, in the way of additional costs or administrative burdens for the employer and no adverse tax consequences for the employees/participants. Accelerating the deductions for these amounts will result in considerable savings if rates are reduced.

Guidance on Ransomware Attacks under HIPAA and State Data Breach Notification Laws

by Anthony A. Bongiorno and Michael G. Morgan | Jan 12, 2017 | Health and Welfare Plans, Privacy and Data Security

The US Department of Health and Human Services has recently issued guidance under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act on what covered entities and business associates can do to prevent and recover from ransomware attacks; however, other state data breach notification laws can also be triggered by a ransomware attack. The authors of this article explain the guidance and what to do if you are subject to a ransomware attack.

Read the full article here.

DOL Releases Advance Copies of the 2016 Form 5500

by Lisa Loesel | Jan 10, 2017 | Health and Welfare Plans, Retirement Plans

On November 1, 2016, the US Department of Labor (DOL) released advance copies of the 2016 Form 5500 and Form 5500-SF annual return/report and their related schedules and instructions. Information copies of the 2016 forms, schedules and instructions are available on the DOL’s website. The advance copies were released for informational purposes only, and may not be used for filing. Official versions of Form 5500 and Form 5500-SF should be posted on the DOL’s website early next year.

Read the full article here.

New ECHO Act Focuses on Integrating Telehealth Solutions into Healthcare Delivery

by McDermott Will & Emery, Lisa Schmitz Mazur and Marshall E. Jackson, Jr. | Jan 4, 2017 | Health and Welfare Plans

On December 14, 2016, President Obama signed the Expanding Capacity for Health Outcomes Act (S. 2873) (the ECHO Act). The ECHO Act seeks to expand the use of health care technology and programming to connect underserved communities and populations with critical health care services.

The ECHO Act builds upon the University of New Mexico’s world-renowned Project ECHO by encouraging the broader development and use of technology-enabled collaborative learning and care delivery models by connecting specialists with multiple other health care professionals through simultaneous interactive videoconferencing for the purpose of facilitating case-based learning, disseminating best practices and evaluating outcomes.

The ECHO Act requires the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to study technology-enabled collaborative learning and capacity building models, and the impact of those models on (1) certain health conditions (i.e., mental health and substance use disorders, chronic diseases, prenatal and maternal health, pediatric care, pain management, and palliative care), (2) health care workforce issues (e.g., specialty care shortages) and (3) public health programs.

Within two years of the enactment of the ECHO Act, the Secretary of HHS must submit a publically available report to Congress that:

Analyzes the impact of technology-enabled collaborative learning and capacity building models, including, but not limited to, the impact on health care provider retention, quality of care, access to care and barriers faced by healthcare providers;
Lists the technology-enabled collaborative learning and capacity building models funded by HHS over the past five years;
Describes best practices used in adopting these models;
Describes barriers to adoption of these models and recommends ways to reduce those barriers and opportunities to increase use of these models; and
Issues recommendations regarding the role of technology-enabled collaborative learning and capacity building models in continuing medical education and lifelong learning, including the role of academic medical centers, provider organizations and community providers in such education and lifelong learning.

The recommendations made in HHS’s report may be used to integrate the Project ECHO model into health systems across the country.

21st Century Cures Act: Small Employer Changes under the Affordable Care Act

by McDermott Will & Emery | Dec 16, 2016 | Health and Welfare Plans

President Obama has signed the 21st Century Cures Act, Pub. L. No. 114-225 (Dec. 13, 2016). As we previously mentioned, the new legislation permits small employers (those that are not considered applicable large employers under the Affordable Care Act (ACA)) to maintain general-purpose stand-alone Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRAs) if they do not offer a group health plan to any of their employees. Stand-alone HRAs were not permitted based on ACA guidance. Annual benefits under these new HRAs cannot exceed an indexed maximum of $4,950 per year ($10,000 if family members are covered), must be funded solely by employer contributions (employee contributions are not permitted), and can only be used for the reimbursement of Internal Revenue Code §213(d) medical care expenses.

Legal Update on Select Health and Welfare Plan Issues

by McDermott Will & Emery | Dec 15, 2016 | Health and Welfare Plans

In a presentation to the Silicon Valley Employers Forum, Susan M. Nash discussed recent updates to select health and welfare plans while outlining some potential issues. The agenda included changes to exchange notices, corrections to Form 1094 and 1095, issues regarding the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Section 1557 and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC) wellness program regulations under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA).

View the presentations slides here.

Extension for Good-Faith Reporting and 2016 Forms 1095-C and 1094-C

by McDermott Will & Emery | Dec 13, 2016 | Health and Welfare Plans

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) created information reporting requirements for certain large employers and issuers of health insurance coverage under Sections 6055 and 6056 of the Internal Revenue Code (Code). On November 18, 2016, the Internal Revenue Service issued Notice 2016-70, extending both the due date for furnishing individuals with Forms 1095-C and 1095-B, in addition to certain good-faith transition relief to the 2016 information reporting requirements under Code sections 6055 and 6056.

Read the full article here.

Congress Passed the 21st Century Cures Act

by McDermott Will & Emery | Dec 12, 2016 | Benefit Controversies, Health and Welfare Plans

Congress has passed, and President Obama is expected to sign the 21st Century Cures Act, H.R. 34. Among other things, the new legislation will permit small employers (those that are not considered applicable large employers under the Affordable Care Act (ACA)), to maintain general-purpose stand-alone Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRAs) if they do not offer a group health plan to any of their employees. Stand-alone HRAs are not permitted based on ACA guidance. Annual benefits under these new HRAs cannot exceed an indexed maximum of $4,950 per year ($10,000 if family members are covered), must be funded solely by employer contributions (employee contributions are not permitted), and can only be used for the reimbursement of Internal Revenue Code §213(d) medical care expenses.

IRS Adjusted ACA Fee Amounts for the 2017 Policy or Plan Years

by McDermott Will & Emery | Dec 6, 2016 | Health and Welfare Plans

Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) Fee

The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) fee was established under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to advance comparative clinical effectiveness research. The PCORI fee is assessed on issuers of health insurance policies and sponsors of self-insured health plans. The fees are calculated using the average number of lives covered under the policy or plan, and the applicable dollar amount for that policy or plan year. The past PCORI fees were—

$2 per life, for policy and plan years ending on or after October 1, 2013, and before October 1, 2014
$2.08 per life, for policy and plan years ending on or after October 1, 2014, and before October 1, 2015
$2.17 per life, for policy and plan years ending on or after October 1, 2015, and before October 1, 2016

The new adjusted PCORI fee is –

$2.26 per life, for policy and plan years ending on or after October 1, 2016, and before October 1, 2017

Employers and insurers will need to file Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Form 720 and pay the updated PCORI fee by July 31, 2017.

Transitional Reinsurance Fee

Like the PCORI fee, the transitional reinsurance fee was established under the ACA. It was designed to reinsure the marketplace exchanges. Contributing entities are required to make contributions towards these reinsurance payments. A “contributing entity” is defined as an insurer or third-party administrator on behalf of a self-insured group health plan. The past transitional reinsurance fees were:

$63 per covered life for 2014
$44 per covered life for 2015
$27 per covered life for 2016

The transitional reinsurance fee funds cease after 2016. Although 2016 this is the final year for transitional reinsurance fees, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) requires that entities retain records relating to their contributions for at least 10 years.

HHS recently released a filings manual which identifies key dates for the 2016 fee contributions. Contributing entities must submit the 2016 form and schedule their fee contribution no later than November 15, 2016. As in prior years, entities can elect to pay:

The entire year’s contribution in one payment no later than January 17, 2017, or
Two separate payments for the benefit year, with the first remittance ($21.60 per covered life) due no later than January 17, 2017, and the second payment ($5.40 per covered life) due no later than November 15, 2017.

Payment can be made online.

Trump’s Obamacare: What Employers Can Expect

by McDermott Will & Emery | Nov 21, 2016 | Benefit Controversies, Health and Welfare Plans

In the aftermath of the recent election of Donald Trump as president of the United States and the Republicans’ retention of control over both the House and the Senate, many are beginning to assess the impact of a Republican controlled Congress and presidency on the future of the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

Read the full article.

This article was published on CFO.com, November 16, 2016.

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