Volume 5, Number 4

CCIIO FAQ and Same-Sex Marriage

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)

A recent FAQ issued by the Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight (CCIIO) has some employers asking questions about offering coverage to same-sex couples. Here's what you need to know.

What has changed: Beginning in 2015, insurance companies must make available a plan to include same-sex married couples if they offer coverage for opposite-sex married couples.

What has not changed: Every employer can decide whether or not to include same-sex coverage. The new law means that if an employer wants to offer same-sex coverage, it will be available regardless of which insurance company is underwriting the plan. Read the FAQ here.

Stacking Transition Relief Under the Final Employer Shared Responsibility Regulations - Additional Delay to 2016 for Mid-Sized Applicable Large Employees

E is for ERISA

The final regulations require an additional year's enforcement delay -- from 2015 to 2016 -- for mid-sized applicable large employers (those who average between 50 and 99 full-time employees, including FTEs, over their chosen 2014 measurement period). For the enforcement delay to apply, an ALE must meet the full-time employee size requirement as well as additional requirements.

Mid-sized employers that qualify for the relief and meet the necessary criteria will not be subject to employer shared responsibility taxes until January 1, 2016, or the first day of their non-calendar plan year beginning in 2016. Click here for full article.

First ACA Employer Information Reports Due in 2016

Health Care Reform Updates (HR360)

Two sets of final regulations provide guidance on, and simplify, the information reporting requirements under Health Care Reform. One set of rules relates to minimum essential coverage reporting by insurers and certain self-insuring employers, and the other set of rules relates to reporting on health insurance coverage offered by large employers. Read more here.

ACA Requires All Health Plans to Obtain Health Plan Identifier ("HPID")

Beyond Health Care Reform

Under health care reform, health plans are now required to obtain a Health Plan Identifier number ("HPID"). Under the HPID final regulations (published on September 5, 2012), large health plans must obtain an HPID by November 5, 2014. Small health plans with $5 million or less in annual receipts have an extra year (that is, until November 5, 2015) to register for an HPID. Stay tuned for developments, and click here for article details.

Fact Sheet: Final Regulations Implementing Information Reporting for Employers and Insurers under the Affordable Care Act (ACA)

U.S. Department of the Treasury

The U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) have released final rules to implement the information reporting provisions for insurers and certain employers under the ACA that take effect in 2015.

The final rules include key provisions for the following:

Single, combined form for information reporting
Simplified option for employer reporting
What information is reported

Click here to read the full article. For more information, see sections 6055 and 6056 final regulations here.

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UCS:

2014 Boston Mid-Sized Retirement & Healthcare Plan Management Conference

May 4-7, 2014

Click here for more information.

Speaker: Michelle Spehr, Health and Wellness Consultant

UCS:

2014 Chicago Mid-Sized Retirement & Healthcare Plan Management Conference

June 8-11, 2014

Click here for more information.

Speakers: Michelle Spehr, Health and Wellness Consultant; Jerry Frye, President; and Sara Russell Rodriguez, VP Clinical Analytics

Client Reminder: More information regarding Health Care Reform and other benefit resources are available on the HR360 website, available to BSG clients under the "Resources" menu of your HR Express website.

BSG subscribes to this service for your benefit. If you would like to learn more regarding this resource, please contact your account management team at BSG.

Additional Tools:

Pay or Play Toolkit
2013 Health Care Reform Checklist
Performance Review Builder

Click here to view previous articles.

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The preceding is not intended to be and is not offered as legal advice. We are prohibited from the practice of law. Compliance is the responsibility of the employer or Plan sponsor and affected employees who should seek their own legal counsel regarding questions about information presented in this newsletter.

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