Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), fees are assessed for some self-insured health plans. The Comparative Effectiveness Research Fee (CERF) is designed to help fund the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), an independent, nonprofit organization authorized by Congress in 2010 designed to fund medical research that will provide patients, their caregivers, a...

On May 12, In response to unanticipated medical and childcare challenges due to COVID-19, the IRS provided employers with a number of optional amendments that can be made to Section 125 cafeteria plans and related health plans and flexible spending arrangements (FSAs).

This guidance allows employers the option to let employees revoke, add, or change 2020 coverage elections now, instead of waiting u...

The Department of Labor (DOL) has released updated versions of its model COBRA General Notice and model COBRA Election Notice, both with an expiration date of Jan. 31, 2023.

As a reminder, these notices are required to be provided as follows:

• Plan administrators must provide covered individuals with a general notice within 90 days after their group health plan coverage begins....

Health Insurance Responsibility Disclosure: Massachusetts

Attention Massachusetts Employers with Six or More Employees in Massachusetts. Filing can be done as early as November 15, 2019 on the MassTaxConnect (MTC) Web Portal. The Annual Health Insurance Responsibility Disclosure (HIRD) Form is due no later than December 15, 2019.

In 2018, the state of Massachusetts re-introduced the HIRD form.  The...

Employers who sponsor group health plans that offer prescription drug coverage to Medicare-eligible individuals are reminded that they must provide the Medicare Part D Notice to those individuals by October 15.

These notices serve to inform Medicare-eligible individuals whether the prescription drug coverage offered is "creditable," meaning it is expected to pay, on average, as much as the s...