Month: November 2017

Since 2015, applicable large employers (ALEs) have been required by the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to offer their full-time employees (and their dependent children) health coverage or face a section 4980H(a) or (b) employer shared responsibility payment (ESRP).*  (For some employers, transition relief delayed this mandate.) Also since 2015, ALEs have been required to prepare, furnish, and file IRS Forms 1094/1095-C. These forms provide the IRS with data it needs to determine if an ALE owes an ESRP. However, while employers addressed these mandates by spending several years grappling with new administrative challenges and worrying about potential penalties, it did not appear that the IRS had actually assessed any ESRPs. That situation just changed.

President Trump’s budget director said Sunday that the White House is open to removing a repeal of the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate from the GOP legislation to overhaul the nation’s tax laws if it becomes a hindrance to the bill’s passage.

 Senator Susan Collins is back in the spotlight as a crucial swing vote in the U.S. Senate as she raises questions about how combining a Republican tax-cut plan with a partial repeal of Obamacare will affect middle-class Americans.

Consumers are getting the word that taxpayer-subsidized health plans are widely available for next year for no monthly premium or little cost, and marketing companies say they're starting to see an impact on sign-ups.

While the Affordable Care Act’s fifth open enrollment season is off to a surprisingly good start, many uninsured people said they weren’t even aware of it, according to a survey released Friday.

SynerMed, a company that manages physician practices serving hundreds of thousands of Medicaid and Medicare patients across California, is planning to shut down amid scrutiny from state regulators and health insurers.

Sutter Health intentionally destroyed 192 boxes of documents that employers and labor unions were seeking in a lawsuit that accuses the giant Northern California health system of abusing its market power and charging inflated prices, according to a state judge.

Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) expressed optimism about a bipartisan effort to stabilize ObamaCare markets, saying his bill could be included in the upcoming funding package if it had President Trump's blessing.

About two months after federal funding lapsed for the Children’s Health Insurance Program, state officials still don’t know exactly when they’ll run out of money or when Congress will renew funding — leaving families that depend on the program increasingly anxious about their benefits.

Nevada’s health insurance enrollment period is running smoothly so far, though the director of the state’s exchange under the Affordable Care Act says there may still be challenges.