Tag: Affordable Care Act (ACA)

Republican landslide alters legislative, regulatory landscape in 2015 and beyond

by Burton J. Fishman The sweeping Republican victory in the midterm election promises to have a significant impact on employment legislation and regulations in the next two years. Because of the number of Republican governors and Republican-dominated state legislatures now in place across the country, the most immediate impact may be at the state level […]

Benefit plans: upcoming compliance deadlines and year-end planning

by Bret Busacker and Bret Clark Now that fall is in the air and school has started, we thought it would be a good idea to summarize some of the key health and welfare benefit deadlines that are approaching.  November 5 Health plan identifier. All self-insured large group health plans (i.e., plans with annual costs […]

ERISA = Every Ridiculous Idea Since Adam

by Brandon Long It’s rumored that President Ronald Reagan once referred to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) as “Every Ridiculous Idea Since Adam.” ERISA serves important purposes in our society, but it also presents tremendous challenges and potential liabilities for good-intentioned employers that merely want to provide nice benefits to their […]

Determining whether variable-hour employees are entitled to offer of health insurance

by Gesina (Ena) M. Seiler Beginning January 1, 2015, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) will require large employers (with 100 or more full-time and full-time equivalent, or FTE, employees–in 2016 it drops to 50 or more employees) to offer minimum essential health insurance coverage to at least 70 percent (increasing to 95 percent in 2016 […]

Risks of ACA avoidance strategies for employers

by Kara E. Shea Even though material aspects of Affordable Care Act (ACA ) compliance have been delayed, employers are still scrambling to understand and prepare for compliance with the new regulatory scheme. Early on, compliance has been something of a numbers game because the “play or pay” mandate is limited to employers with 50 […]