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Earlier today, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled in Halbig v. Burwell that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) authorizes the issuance of tax credits to assist individuals to purchase health coverage only on state-run exchanges. On the same day, a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit reached the opposite conclusion in King v. Burwell, holding that ACA tax credits were also available to participants in federally-run exchanges.
Continue Reading Halbig v. Burwell: A Death Blow for the Affordable Care Act?

Yesterday, the Obama administration announced a partial delay in the effective date of one of the key requirements of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“PPACA”) – the employer “shared responsibility” requirements (a.k.a. “pay or play”).
Continue Reading PPACA Update: Employer Shared Responsibility Mandate Delayed Again…For Some Employers, But Not All

Employers are required to provide a notice to employees regarding coverage options under the new Health Insurance Marketplaces created by the Affordable Care Act that are scheduled to be up and running on October 1. Much is uncertain about how the rollout of the Health Insurance Marketplaces will go on October 1; however, one thing is for certain: employees are likely to have many questions and misunderstandings regarding their options under the Affordable Care Act.
Continue Reading Healthcare Reform Update: The Top Five Questions Employees Will Be Asking on October 1

As readers of this blog are surely aware, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) imposes a number of new obligations on employers and private health insurance plans. Effective January 1, 2013, most private employers with 50 or more employees must provide health insurance coverage for women’s preventative services, including reproductive health screenings and contraception, without charging a co-pay, deductible, or co-insurance. Failure to provide such coverage can lead to financial penalties of up to one hundred dollars per day per employee who is not provided with the required coverage. A limited exception is available for religious institutions, giving such employers the option of whether to cover contraception services. Over 60 lawsuits are pending around the country by for-profit companies and non-profits alike, challenging the constitutionality of the contraception requirement on religious grounds and seeking to block its enforcement. Late last week, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals issued a ruling on one such challenge brought by a private family-owned business in Pennsylvania.
Continue Reading Third Circuit Denies Pennsylvania Business’s Challenge to Contraception Mandate

With the re-election of President Obama in November, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (a.k.a. “healthcare reform” or “Obamacare”) survived its second major challenge in 2012. Many employers had been awaiting the outcome of the election before devoting substantial effort to long-term compliance planning. The period of “wait and see” is now over and employers are well-advised to start looking ahead to 2014, when the Act’s most significant provisions take effect. Employers should expect a steady stream of PPACA guidance and regulations flowing out of Washington over the next twelve months. The first significant post-election installment of PPACA guidance was issued on November 20, 2012 when the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”), U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) jointly issued two Proposed Rules and one Notice of Proposed Rulemaking.
Continue Reading Healthcare Reform Update: Recent Federal Guidance Focuses on 2014