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Alert From CMS for FFM Agents/Brokers 2-10-2014 We wanted to advise you of an upcoming, scheduled outage at the Federal Data Services Hub. From Saturday 2/15, at 3:00PM EST until Tuesday, 2/18 at 5:00AM EST, the Social Security Administration (SSA) will conduct annual systems maintenance activities. See also: annual systems maintenance activities. During this period, verification of Social Security Numbers and other related data that is accessed via the Hub will be unavailable. Click here to read more. Highmark Update – Mandate Delayed For Employers With 50-99 Employees On Feb. 10, the U.S. Treasury Department announced new rules concerning the mandate that requires employers with 50 or more workers to provide health care coverage to their full-time employees. Click here to read more. An Analysis of the Final Employer Shared Responsibility Rules under PPACA On February 10, the Treasury Department released the final rules on compliance with the employer shared responsibility requirements under the health-reform law, often referred to as the law’s employer-mandate provisions. The rules will take effect generally on January 1, 2015, and they are scheduled for formal publication in the Federal Register today. Treasury also has a web page available offering more guidance on the rules and determining employer eligibility. Click here to read more. Health-Law Mandate Put Off Again Most employers won't face a fine next year if they fail to offer workers health insurance, the Obama administration said Monday, in the latest big delay of the health-law rollout. The Treasury Department, in regulations outlining the Affordable Care Act, said employers with 50 to 99 full-time workers won't have to comply with the law's requirement to provide insurance or pay a fee until 2016. Companies with more workers could avoid some penalties in 2015 if they showed they were offering coverage to at least 70% of full-time workers. Click here to read more. Midsize Firms Get More Time on PPACA Mandate The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) says it will let employers with 50 to 99 full-time employees wait until Jan. 1, 2016, to comply with the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) group coverage mandate. But employers with 100 or more full-time employers will have to comply with the Internal Revenue Code Section 4980H "play or pay" provision Jan. 1, 2015. Click here to read more.
Weekly PPACA Update Conference Call We recognize that many of you have questions that need answered in regards to the PPACA Law (Obamacare) and the opening of the Marketplaces on 10-1-2013. So, in a continuing effort to assist our agent-partners in getting the information they need to flourish within the under 65 group and individual health market, we are implementing a weekly telephone conference that will serve as a place to get your questions answered and discuss topics that will lead to your continued success in the health insurance market. Click here to register. Weekly PPACA Conference Call Archives Click here to view the archived recordings of the PPACA Conference Calls.
New Guidance Addresses Effect of ACA on HRAs, Health FSAs & Premium Reimbursement Accounts On September 13, 2013, the DOL and IRS issued complex technical new guidance on how certain provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) apply to to HRAs, Health FSAs, and certain other employer healthcare arrangements. The guidance is DOL Tech. Rel. 2013-03 and IRS Notice 2013-54. Click here to read more. Vince Phillips, PAHU Lobbyist – Leg-Reg Review LEG REG REVIEW is a periodic newsletter produced by PHILLIPS ASSOCIATES, a professional lobbying and consultant firm located near the State Capitol. It contains news on the legislative and regulatory scene in Pennsylvania that may be of interest to the Insurance and Business Communities. Click here to read more. Why HealthCare.gov Launch Was Ripe For Scammers When the long-awaited federal and state health insurance exchange websites launched Oct. 1, industry experts everywhere predicted an array of problems — slow load times, inconvenient registration requirements and even site crashes — many of which came true. Now that the dust from the initial pandemonium has settled, it's clear there’s one big issue with the exchange sites few experts were able to predict: fraud. Click here to read more.
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