17 Jun

Posted at 18:33h in Employee Benefits White Papers by . .
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Legal Update Header On June 17, 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) individual mandate in a 7-2 ruling.

This lawsuit was filed in 2018 by 18 states as a result of the 2017 tax reform law that eliminates the individual mandate penalty. In 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the ACA on the basis that the individual mandate is a valid tax. With the penalty’s elimination, the appeals court in this case determined that the individual mandate is no longer valid under the U.S. Constitution.

21 May

Posted at 15:46h in Employee Benefits White Papers by . .
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Legal Update Header On May 10, 2021, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a notice announcing that effective immediately, it will now interpret and enforce the prohibitions on discrimination based on sex under Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to include:

  • Discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation; and
  • Discrimination on the basis of gender identity.
 

20 May

Posted at 23:52h in Employee Benefits White Papers by . .
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Legal Update Header On May 5, 2021, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) published a second Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters (NBPP) for 2022 that finalized the remainder of the standards included in the proposed notice issued at the end of 2020.

The first final 2022 NBPP was published Jan. 19, 2021. This second NBPP describes additional benefit and payment parameters under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that apply for the 2022 benefit year, including the following:

14 May

Posted at 18:18h in Employee Benefits White Papers by . .
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Legal Update Header On May 10, 2021, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released guidance on the taxability of dependent care assistance programs (DCAPs) for 2021 and 2022, clarifying that amounts attributable to previously issued carryover and extended grace period relief generally are not taxable.

Specifically, if these dependent care benefits would have been excluded from income if used during taxable year 2020 (or 2021, if applicable), these benefits will remain excludible from gross income and are not considered wages of the employee for 2021 and 2022.

16 Apr

Posted at 20:48h in Employee Benefits White Papers by . .
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For a growing number of employers, voluntary accident insurance plans may play a part in rounding out employee benefits packages to help employees pay for unexpected costs.

Accidents can happen to anyone—and the reality is that accidents do happen. In fact, more than 80 million people in the United States seek medical treatment for injuries each year. This article provides an overview of accident insurance and reasons why many employers are offering this voluntary benefit to employees.