Category: Employee Benefits

IRS to Enforce Employer Shared Responsibility Payments

After a year of many questions surrounding the future of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the IRS has recently provided some answers indicating that the agency will indeed move forward to enforce the employer shared responsibility requirements of the ACA.

Based on the recent update to its online resource, Questions and Answers on Employer Shared Responsibility Provisions Under the Affordable Care Act, the IRS will begin issuing notices (Letter 226J) to employers in late 2017 for potential liabilities from the 2015 calendar year. 

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Scott Benefit Services Joins NAHU’s Principals Council

Scott Benefit Services has accepted an invitation to join the National Association of Health Underwriters’ (NAHU) Principals Council, a group of elite agencies and brokers with significant influence on legislative and regulatory issues on the federal level. The NAHU focuses on legislative issues that impact health insurance, specifically employer-sponsored coverage. Their advocacy efforts promote affordable and responsible private health insurance market solutions.

The Principals Council includes representatives from some of the top agencies in the country – agencies with significant legislative influence and more sophisticated regulatory concerns. Members of the group attend top-level meetings with White House staff, members of Congress and federal agency leadership.  

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White House Makes Big Moves on Healthcare

The White House made two major announcements regarding healthcare yesterday. First, President Trump issued an executive order titled “Promoting Healthcare Choice and Competition Across the United States” and then late last night it was announced that the CSR (cost-sharing reduction) payments from the government to insurance companies would cease immediately.

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McConnell Pulls Plug on Latest ACA Repeal/Replacement Effort

Tuesday afternoon Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced that they would not vote on Graham-Cassidy, effectively ending the GOP’s hopes of repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act (ACA) this year. Graham-Cassidy, which was thought to be a non-starter just a couple of months ago, picked up significant steam in the last few weeks as GOP lawmakers faced the reality of their time to repeal and replace the ACA running out. Time was short because the Senate Parliamentarian ruled that the current push to repeal and replace with a simple majority (a process called budget reconciliation) had to end with the current fiscal year on September 30. With this short window of time, Graham and Cassidy pushed hard to get their bill to the floor for a vote and GOP leadership worked with the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to fast-track a score on the bill (a requirement under budget reconciliation). 

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Trends Driving Increased Healthcare Costs

It is no secret that healthcare costs are steadily increasing creating a significant burden for employers offering healthcare benefit plans. By analyzing claims data, we can uncover the trends that are driving these costs. Once we understand the data behind the costs, we can identify opportunities to respond and gain control.  

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