Compliance Stuff

Takeaways Employers may post a notice on their website instead of automatically furnishing Forms 1095-B and 1095-C to all full-time employees.  The first due date for such a notice is  March 3  for 2024 forms, and the notice must remain accessible until  October 15. Related Links IRS Notice 2025-15 Benefits Law Advisor – Affordable Care Act Reporting Changes: Good News for Plan Sponsors Employer Reporting Improvement Act Paperwork Burden Reduction Act Article The Employer Reporting Improvement Act and the Paperwork Burden Reduction Act (the Acts) introduced significant changes to the reporting and enforcement rules of the Affordable Care Act (ACA ).  We discussed the Acts in an  earlier blog .  Recently, the IRS issued Notice 2025-15, which provides the promised guidance for reporting entities on how to furnish Forms 1095-B and 1095-C.  Here is what plan sponsors need to know: Alternative Method for Furnishing Forms Rather than automatically sendi...

  Recent legislative changes have brought significant relief to employers grappling with the complexities of Affordable Care Act (ACA) reporting. The  Employer Reporting Improvement Act (Act)  and the  Paperwork Burden Reduction Act , once signed into law by President Biden, will introduce several key modifications to the ACA’s reporting and enforcement rules.  Background: Current ACA Reporting Requirements   Under the current ACA regulations, plan sponsors, particularly ALEs, must report information about the health coverage they offer to employees using Forms 1095-B and 1095-C. These forms must be filed with the IRS and furnished to all full-time employees and employees receiving employer-sponsored coverage.     Current ACA enforcement includes a tight 30-day turnaround to respond to IRS proposed Employer Shared Responsibility Payments (ESRP) assessments. These assessments are sent via US mail, often taking time to reach employer contacts. Thi...

In a win for plan sponsors, the recently enacted  Employer Reporting Improvement Act  and the  Paperwork Burden Reduction Act  (the Acts), among other things, introduce several significant changes to the reporting and enforcement rules of the Affordable Care Act (ACA).  The Current Rules Forms 1095-B and 1095-C:   U nder the ACA, plan sponsors, specifically Applicable Large Employers (ALEs), must report information about the health coverage they offer to their employees.  This ACA reporting is done through Forms 1095-B and 1095-C, which must be filed with the IRS and provided to all full-time employees and employees receiving employer-sponsored coverage. (This is the case, even though the ACA’s individual mandate is currently set to $0, and therefore functionally isn’t being enforced.) Key aspects of ACA enforcement also include: A Tight Turnaround to Respond to Proposed Assessments : The IRS may assess employer shared responsibility payments (ES...

  As employers look toward open enrollment for their group health plans, now is a good time to review action items needed for those plans by year-end, as well as upcoming deadlines in the near future. While fully-insured health plans generally have their compliance obligations satisfied by the insurer, self-insured health plans usually rely on the employer or the plan's third-party administrator (TPA) to meet the compliance requirements. Below is a brief summary of items that employers should be aware of for their health plans and, as appropriate, we have delineated when such compliance is limited only to self-insured health plans. Capitol Bridge Health Plan: Effective 03/01 - 02/28 TDB Communication, Inc. Health Plan: Effective 07/01 - 06/30 Capitol Bridge Health Services Health Plan: Effective 07/01 - 06/30 Capitol Bridge Puerto Rico: Effective (TO BE DETERMINED) 1. HIPAA Privacy Extends Special Protections to Reproductive Health Care: Employer Action Required by 12/23/24 Earlier...

  There are a number of mistakes—some simple and some not-so-simple—that employers should avoid to prevent receiving a panic-inducing assessment letter from the IRS. Mistake #1: Failure to Indicate that Minimum Essential Coverage Was Offered to Full-Time Employees One of the most common issues that I see is failure to indicate to the IRS that an offer of MEC was actually made to at least 95% of the employer’s full-time employees and their dependents. This will lead to an assessment of financial penalties under Internal Revenue Code (“Code)” Section 4980H. On Form  1094-C , Part III, Column (a) should be completed to indicate whether such an offer of coverage was made for all 12 months or for certain months during the year. Frequently, I have found that payroll companies will automatically default to checking the “no” box on the 1094-C, or leaving this box blank when preparing the 1094-C for their clients. Many organizations submit this Form 1094-C without carefully reviewing i...