Posts by Brandon Long
IRS announces special relief to help victims of Hurricane Harvey
Last week the IRS announced that 401(k) plans and certain similar employer-sponsored retirement plans can make loans and hardship distributions to help victims of Hurricane Harvey. Under the relief, a qualified employer retirement plan will not be treated as failing to satisfy any requirement under the Internal Revenue Code merely because the plan makes a…
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The Affordable Care Act is here to stay
In the last few weeks we have talked to hundreds of employers about the American Health Care Act (AHCA), which was proposed in the U.S. House of Representatives on March 6. Many of you have asked about the AHCA, how it might impact the Affordable Care Act (ACA), and what you should be doing given…
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New White House memorandum likely to result in delay of fiduciary rule
Last Friday, President Trump issued a memorandum for the U.S. Secretary of Labor that seems likely to result in the delay of key regulations issued under the Obama administration, which are currently set to become applicable on April 10, 2017. Under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and the Internal Revenue Code,…
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ACA reporting deadline extended — but employers should stay focused to avoid penalties
About a month ago, and just months before the reporting deadlines required under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) were set to go into effect, the Internal Revenue Service gave us all a late Christmas present and announced that it would extend the deadlines. Under the ACA, health insurers, self-insured employers, government agencies and other providers of minimum…
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Supreme Court upholds Affordable Care Act once again
This morning, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its long-awaited opinion in King v. Burwell and upheld the Affordable Care Act once again. In a 6-3 opinion written by Chief Justice John Roberts, the court held that tax credits are available for health coverage purchased through a federal exchange, like the one in Oklahoma. The ACA…
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The skinny on narrow networks
The insurance exchanges created under Affordable Care Act have facilitated increased competition. Old version managed care models implemented cost-savings measures like pre-authorizations for medical care, hospital length of stay restrictions, determinations of medical necessity for coverage, second opinions for surgery, exclusions of procedures or services, cost-shifting using higher deductibles and co-payments, and caps on coverage.
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The ACA’s Toyota tax
For several years now, employers have spent a great deal of time focusing on the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) play-or-pay mandate. Numerous articles have been written and numerous educational seminars have been given discussing issues such as who is subject to the play-or-pay mandate, what is the definition of a full-time employee, how are hours…
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Time to get serious about the Affordable Care Act’s employer reporting requirements
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) has consumed us for the last four and a half years. As employers, we have spent so much time trying to figure out what the ACA requires, trying to hit the government’s moving regulatory targets, and trying to figure out how we are going to pay for all of this.…
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Employers can pay adoption expenses for their employees
Almost 40 years ago now, a young mother had the courage to give me up for adoption to my parents who could not themselves have children. All of my life, I have reaped the almost-unbelievable benefits of my biological mother’s courage and my parents’ love – and so does my family now. Yet, my adoption…
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HEALTH PLAN UPDATE » New action steps for employers and their health plans
On May 7, 2014, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued proposed rules with amendments to the notice requirements under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 (COBRA). The proposed amendments are intended to align the COBRA notice requirements with the Affordable Care Act…
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