On March 23, 2010, President Obama signed into law a landmark health care reform bill, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. It ushers in major changes in the way employers provide and pay for health insurance for their employees. This page provides links to information and training on the new law:
REPEAL/REPLACE PROPOSALS: 2017
- Congress takes first legislative steps in replacing Obamacare (March 2017)
- ACA repeal would affect employer coverage (Jan 2017)
- Employer mandate is top heallth care reform concern (Dec. 2016)
- Trump wins: 4 ‘what-ifs’ affecting HR (Nov. 2016)
THE LAW
SUPREME COURT’S DECISION upholding the Affordable Care Act
- Analysis: Supreme Court’s landmark health care reform decision (7/24/12)
- Health reform law: Supreme Court upholds ACA — What it means for employers (6/28/2012)
- Game on! Supreme Court hears health care reform arguments (3/27/12)
ACA COMPLIANCE: 2014
- Final rule delays ACA employer mandate (2/18/2014)
- Survey: Employees like current health benefits, are open to ACA exchanges (2/12/14)
- ACA FAQ explains wellness issues (2/6/14)
- ACA individual mandate could cost employers more (1/28/14)
- IRS issues integration rules for HRAs and FSAs (1/24/14)
- Status of health flexible spending accounts, health reimbursement accounts and health savings accounts under the Affordable Care Act (1/22/14)
- More small businesses might drop health benefits (1/13/14)
- ACA out-of-pocket limits delayed for multiple-provider scenarios (1/6/14)
- ACA: Employers, nondiscrimination rules and the Cadillac tax (1/3/14)
ACA COMPLIANCE: 2013
- ACA SHOPs postponed one year, HHS urges using brokers instead (12-9-13)
- Supreme Court to rule on ACA contraceptive mandate (11-27-13)
- Bypass Healthcare.gov: Small employers can buy health insurance through brokers (11-25-13)
- Regs continue to outline affordability under the ACA (11-18-13)
- With ACA Web woes mounting, will SHOPs be delayed again? (11-4-13)
- Put your ACA expertise to use during open enrollment (10-25-13)
- Health benefit reporting on 2013 Forms W-2 (10-8-13)
- Delay for buying small business health coverage (10-7-13)
- No penalty for not providing ACA notice? Maybe, maybe not (10-7-13)
- Affordable Care Act: Dept. of Unintended Consequences (9-23-13)
- SBA: No penalty for dropping ACA employee-notification ball (9-23-13)
- Study: ACA won’t spike individual health premiums (9-16-13)
- Urgent: Explain health insurance options now! (9-16-13)
- Business can’t dodge ACA on religious grounds (9-9-13)
- Do you qualify for ACA’s small business tax credits? (8-26-13)
- Beware manipulating head count to dodge ACA employer mandate (8-19-13)
- ACA’s employer mandate postponed one year, until 2015 (8-14-13)
- Here’s an alternative source for health insurance info, options (8-12-13)
- ACA regs define minimum value, clarify role of wellness programs (7-22-13)
- ACA employer mandate postponed until 2015 (7/15/13)
- DOL releases model ACA notices, revises SBC template (6-30-13)
- ACA young-adult provisions shifting health costs to insurers (6/17/13)
- HEXs and SHOPs: Welcome to the new world of health benefits (6-13-13)
- New wellness rules allow premium incentives (6/10/13)
- Hand out health exchange model notices by Oct. 1 (5/20/13)
- Heard about the ACA’s $63 per head reinsurance fee? (5/9/13)
- Know the regs that help avoid ACA free-rider penalties (5/2/13)
- Design health plan to attract low-wage workers (4/26/13)
- Health care reform: California weighs in on essential health benefits (4/23/13)
- Small biz insurance choices limited in 2014 (4/12/2013)
- Health care reform: Prepare now for changes coming in 2014 (4/11/13)
- Don’t get stung by Obamacare’s play-or-pay provisions (4/3/13)
- Learn how to count employees under ACA’s employer mandate (3/21/13)
- Health benefit safe harbors put Payroll in the driver’s seat (3/18/13)
- The feds say ‘never mind’ on ACA health exchange notices (3/12/13)
- Health exchange employee notice requirement postponed (2/26/13)
- IRS issues regs on ACA’s employer play-or-pay provision (2/25/13)
- Employee health benefits notification begins March 1 (1/23/13)
- Self-insured plans, HSAs, HRAs must pay research fees (1/9/13)
- How to survive a DOL audit of your health insurance plan (1/9/13)
ACA COMPLIANCE: 2012
- Self-insured? New health plan fees due to IRS in July (12/24/12)
- Health plans audited for health care reform compliance (12/18/12)
- Health insurance under new rules: Will you pay or play? (11/20/12)
- Need health insurance options for your small business? (11/14/12)
- With Obama re-elected, kick ACA compliance into high gear (11/06/12)
- Safe harbor protects employers from free-rider penalties (10/30/12)
- The cost of new health care law? 14 cents a pizza (10/10/12)
- IRS cuts slack under final health premium tax credit regs (9/18/12)
- Health reform: After Supreme Court vote, compliance scramble begins (8/22/12)
- Reminder: Give employees summary of benefits/coverage (8/21/12)
- 9% of employers may drop health benefits by 2014 (8/16/12)
- What employers must do now to meet Affordable Care Act deadlines (8/03/12)
- After Supreme Court’s ACA ruling, 5 strategic steps to take (7/11/12)
- After Supreme Court ruling, plan now for W-2 health care reporting (7/03/12)
EARLIER ACA COMPLIANCE
- Health care reform: Mark your calendar with these milestones (8/24/10)
- The hidden HR hurdles of health care reform (4/06/10)
- Understanding HR’s role in the new health care reform law (3/26/10)
TRAINING
- Health Care Reform: Employers’ Legal Update. What should you be doing NOW to comply with the Affordable Care Act (ACA)? How can you keep costs to a minimum? With the employer mandate looming, what are your options — and should your organization “pay or play”? In this essential webinar, benefits experts Richard Paul and Matthew Schenck explain how to comply with the ACA’s complex requirements.
GUIDANCE
- Fact Sheet: Keeping the Health Plan You Have: The Affordable Care Act and “Grandfathered” Health Plans. The government portal for health reform law information, HealthReform.gov, offers this primer on the regulation that explains how employers can retain grandfather status for their health plans and, therefore, avoid certain requirements under the new law. The U.S. Labor Department publised a side-by-side table showing which provisions grandfathered plans are exempt from.
- The IRS has begun publishing regulations and guidance on various aspects of the new law, including the tax status of dependent health coverage and the tax credits designed to encourage small employers to offer coverage. The IRS also released a worksheet to see if your organization would be eligible for the credits.
PRIMER
- Critical Employer Issues in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, a free 36-page primer published by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
MODEL EMPLOYEE NOTICE LANGUAGE (from the U.S. Department of Labor)
- Model Notice Language: Extension of Dependent Coverage to Age 26
- Model Notice Language: Lifetime Limit No Longer Applies
- Model Notice Language: Patient Protection Model Disclosure
- Model Notice Language: “Grandfathered’ Plan Status
