Payroll Tax Deferral Guidance

President Trump issued an executive order on August 8, 2020 allowing employers to defer employee’s social security taxes for certain employees for the period beginning September 1, 2020 through December 31, 2020. The Department of Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service issued Notice 2020-65 providing additional guidance on August 28, 2020. The executive order defers…

MLR Rebates Must Be Paid By Sept 30, 2020

The ACA requires health insurers to spend a minimum percentage of their premium dollars, or MLR, on medical care and health care quality improvement.  Issuers that do not meet these minimum requirements must provide rebates to consumers. This percentage is: 85% for issuers in the large group market; and 80% for issuers in the small and…

ACA Affordability Contribution Rate Set at 9.83% for 2021

New Figure Marks Slight Increase from 2020 Under the Affordable Care Act’s employer shared responsibility (pay or play) rules, applicable large employers—generally those who have 50 or more full-time employees (including full-time equivalent employees)—may be subject to a penalty if they do not offer affordable health insurance coverage that provides minimum value to their full-time…

Trump Signs Executive Orders to Lower Drug Prices

Series of Four Executive Orders Issued On July 24, 2020, President Donald Trump issued the following series of executive orders in an effort to lower drug prices: Executive Order on Lowering Prices for Patients by Eliminating Kickbacks to Middlemen: directs federally qualified health centers to pass along massive discounts on insulin and epinephrine received from…

ACA Pay or Play Penalties Increase in 2021

The Adjusted Penalty Amounts for 2021 are $2,700 and $4,060 Under the Affordable Care Act’s employer shared responsibility (pay or play) rules, applicable large employers—generally those who have 50 or more full-time employees (including full-time equivalent employees)—may be subject to a penalty if they do not offer affordable coverage that provides minimum value to their…