Tag: PPACA

PPACA Terms of Art You Need to Know to Comply

Employer shared responsibility or “play or pay” provisions (aka 4980H) of the ACA are effective January 1, 2014; however, no penalties will be assessed until 2015. Nevertheless, says Gillihan, your planning must be ongoing now if you plan to use a 12-month measurement period—that period has already started. Gillihan is counsel in the Atlanta office […]

Walgreens to provide employees with healthcare subsidy while ACA public exchange deadline looms

Walgreens has announced it will provide eligible employees with employer-sponsored health insurance coverage in 2014 through its proprietary “Live Well Benefits Store,” a marketplace that is an outsourced solution through Aon Hewitt Corporate Health Exchange. The new program allows Walgreens to continue offering health insurance and wellness benefits to its employees as the plan administrator […]

New regulations change details on workplace wellness programs

Final rules from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on employment-based wellness programs raise the maximum reward that may be offered by certain wellness programs and expand nondiscrimination protections for sick employees. The final rules under President Barack Obama’s Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act were issued May 29 and will be effective […]

Healthcare reform provisions move forward: preexisting condition exclusions

On November 20, the Obama administration announced it is moving forward with certain provisions in the Affordable Care Act (ACA), including banning insurance companies from discriminating against people with preexisting conditions. The administration issued the following: A proposed rule that, beginning in 2014, prohibits health insurance companies from discriminating against individuals because of a preexisting […]

Supreme Court Set to Decide Future of Health Care Reform

The U.S. Supreme Court recently heard oral arguments regarding a challenge to the massive health care reform law, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), enacted in March 2010. The Court revealed how important it considers this case by hearing around six hours of oral arguments over the span of three days, when it […]

Supreme Court to Decide Fate of Health Care Reform in 2012

Earlier this week, the U.S. Supreme Court announced that it would hear a challenge to the massive health care reform law (also known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, or PPACA) enacted in March 2010. The Court revealed how important it considers this case by scheduling five and a half hours of oral […]

Deadline Looms for Plans to Conform with OTC Rules

If you have not updated your plan documents to conform with the new rules for reimbursing the cost of over-the-counter (OTC) drugs under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), time is almost up. You only have till June 30! Under the PPACA, only OTC drugs that have been prescribed may be reimbursed through […]

Federal Court Rules Health Care Reform Provision Unconstitutional

Yesterday, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia held that the individual health insurance mandate provision found in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), the comprehensive health care reform legislation that President Barack Obama signed into law in March 2010, is unconstitutional. The individual mandate would require most individuals to […]