ACA Times

SEPTEMBER 7, 2022

The ACA reporting season for the 2022 tax year is fast approaching and organizations must take the proper precautions to ensure an accurate and timely filing, void of penalty risk.…. The post Prepare for 2022 ACA Reporting With the ACA Essential Guide first appeared on The ACA Times.

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ACA Times

JULY 6, 2022

The annual Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) fees are due July 31, 2022 , this year. . Employers and insurers offering self-funded health insurance plans should submit the fees ahead of the deadline as it falls on a Sunday this year. Applicable organizations should submit their PCORI payments via the Electronic Federal Tax System , along with the completed Form 720.

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ACA Times

MAY 5, 2022

Following the 2021 tax year, the ACA has garnered the highest number of enrollments it has ever seen. Over 35 million Americans have obtained health coverage because of the ACA, according to a report issued by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Of the 35 million enrollees an estimated 13.6 million enrolled through health exchanges, and over 21 million opted into Medicaid coverage, including 16.8 million who were not eligible prior to the ACA’s expansion.

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ACA Times

APRIL 27, 2022

The last several years have been difficult for the IRS, but now that the historic backlog has an end date , the agency is making significant progress on a long list of to-do items, including issuing ACA penalties. Over the last month or so, we’ve heard from our partners, brokers, and new clients about the flurry of ACA penalties being issued from the IRS, namely, the notorious Letter 226J.

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ACA Times

OCTOBER 28, 2021

On October 2, 2020, the IRS issued Notice 2020-76 , extending the deadline for employers to furnish ACA Forms 1095-C to applicable full-time employees from January 31, 2021, to March 2, 2021. Will the agency issue an extension for the 2021 tax year? To further align with the agency’s goals to identify ACA Employer Mandate non-compliance, it makes sense for the agency to not issue an extension.

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ACA Times

FEBRUARY 16, 2022

The IRS recently announced it is suspending certain mailings of automated collections and various other notices in an effort to get through its current backlog. As such, the agency will no longer be sending out select mail notifications, including CP501, CP503, and CP504 notices. The last notice has previously been used to inform taxpayers of an inability to pay an ACA penalty assessment. .

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ACA Times

FEBRUARY 9, 2022

The IRS is experiencing a massive mail backlog of unprocessed documents first caused by COVID-19. Included in that backlog of notices are ACA penalty assessments. To help the situation, the agency said it would be reassigning 1,200 employees to assist with the 2021 tax season distribution, which at the onset only compounded the backlog, making a bad situation worse. .

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ACA Times

JANUARY 26, 2022

With the New Year well underway, organizations with operations in California should give special attention to the state’s Individual Mandate and the additional ACA reporting requirements. Employers that offer self-funded healthcare plans and health insurance carriers must furnish healthcare information to their employees and their dependents by this coming Monday, January 31, 2022.

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ACA Times

JANUARY 11, 2022

Open enrollment for the 2022 plan year ends later this week but ACA signups are already hitting record new highs. Kaiser Health News cites a record-breaking 13.6 million Americans already signed up for 2022 coverage through an ACA marketplace exchange. The closest number of total signups was 12.7 million in 2016, during Obama’s final year in office. .

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ACA Times

JANUARY 4, 2022

Employers ringing in the New Year should remember that several states ’ have additional ACA filing and furnishing obligations that must be completed for the 2021 tax year. To help you get a handle on the many state ACA deadlines, we’ve listed the due dates and reporting requirements for the 2021 tax year, to be filed in 2022, below. California . Self-funded employers and health insurance carriers in California must furnish healthcare information to their employees and their dependents by January

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ACA Times

DECEMBER 20, 2021

On December 9, 2021, the IRS published the final ACA reporting instructions for the 2021 tax year , including the final 1094-C and 1095-C forms. As expected, the forms and instructions are nearly identical to the draft forms released in July. Below we’ve covered what you need to know about the final ACA reporting instructions for the 2021 tax year. Two new codes for Line 14 of the 1095-C.

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ACA Times

DECEMBER 7, 2021

The IRS is now issuing Letter 226J penalty notices to employers identified as having failed to comply with the ACA’s Employer Mandate for the 2019 tax year. Just in time for the holiday season. If you receive a Letter 226J penalty notice from the IRS, timing is of the essence. You will only have 30 days to respond to the notice. If you need additional time, the IRS can grant you one additional 30-day extension, but is unlikely to grant any more afterwards.

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ACA Times

NOVEMBER 18, 2021

With the Infrastructure Bill now officially signed into law, Congress will now shift its focus onto the $1.75 trillion Build Back Better proposal. In its current version, the plan could reshape U.S. healthcare and the ACA. To start, the plan allocates roughly $130 billion to expand Medicaid and reduce medical premiums for ACA coverage, according to CNBC.

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ACA Times

OCTOBER 28, 2021

On October 2, 2020, the IRS issued Notice 2020-76 , extending the deadline for employers to furnish ACA Forms 1095-C to applicable full-time employees from January 31, 2021, to March 2, 2021. Will the agency issue an extension for the 2021 tax year? To further align with the agency’s goals to identify ACA Employer Mandate non-compliance, it makes sense for the agency to not issue an extension.

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ACA Times

OCTOBER 14, 2021

The ACA is receiving some of the highest approval ratings since it was first signed into law in 2010. According to a June poll from the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) , 53% of American adults are in favor of the ACA and only 35% find the law unfavorable. The survey asked respondents, “As you may know, a health reform bill was signed into law in 2010.

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ACA Times

OCTOBER 7, 2021

It’s officially the final quarter of the 2021 tax year and that means tax season is right around the corner. What precautions is your organization taking to ensure a smooth ACA reporting experience this year? As an ACA Times subscriber, we’ve curated a list of the top three ACA resources to help ensure a smooth 2021 ACA reporting experience, to be filed and furnished in 2022. .

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ACA Times

SEPTEMBER 28, 2021

The fourth quarter is right around the corner and with it comes the inevitable tax filing season. Employers should give special attention to their ACA reporting obligations this year as there are a number of significant developments that will add complexities to the now seven-year-old reporting requirement. For FY 2022, the IRS is receiving nearly $1 billion in additional funding for tax enforcement, including the ACA’s Employer Mandate.

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ACA Times

SEPTEMBER 22, 2021

In the series of legal challenges against the ACA, the latest is an attack on free preventative care and it just may undermine significant advancements made to the U.S. healthcare system. The plaintiffs in the court case Kelley v. Becerra assert that the ACA’s free preventative care covers costs of services that contradict their religious beliefs. That’s because baked into the ACA‘s monthly premiums is funding to cover the costs of preventative services like contraception and pre-exposure

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ACA Times

SEPTEMBER 1, 2021

It’s become abundantly clear that the IRS is ramping its enforcement of tax compliance. With Biden requesting additional funding for the agency, employers should note that as part of increased enforcement efforts, IRS penalties under the ACA’s Employer Mandate will be increasing as well. Under the ACA’s Employer Mandate , employers with 50 or more full-time employees and full-time equivalent employees, known as Applicable Large Employers (ALEs) must: Offer Minimum Essential Coverage (MEC) to at

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ACA Times

AUGUST 24, 2021

August 15 was the deadline for Biden’s federal special enrollment period. Preliminary data finds over 2.5 million Americans opted to receive healthcare coverage. Of the 2.5 million, 1.8 million enrolled in healthcare coverage through the federal health exchange and approximately 723,000 signed up through one of the 15 state-run (including D.C.) health exchanges.

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ACA Times

AUGUST 17, 2021

The IRS recently issued a notice that further clarifies the usage of Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) coverage as amended via the American Rescue Plan (ARP). IRS Notice 2021-46 expands on 2021-31 and identifies several parameters around COBRA continuation coverage in a question and answers format. Before diving into the specifics, it’s important to note how the ARP created changes to COBRA coverage for select individuals.

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ACA Times

JULY 28, 2021

Earlier this year the IRS released final regulations regarding the relationship between Employer Shared Responsibility Provisions (ESRP) and individual coverage Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRAs). And then they were withdrawn by the Biden administration for review. In this piece, we will dive into what the regulations clarify and how employers should proceed.

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ACA Times

JULY 19, 2021

The IRS recently released its draft 1094-C and 1095-C instructions for the 2021 tax year. We’ve identified the changes below. . It appears that Form 1094-C will remain the same, but the instructions do include two new codes for use on Line 14 of the Form 1095-C: 1T and 1U. . According to the draft instructions , the 1T code is for use when the applicable individual and their spouse receive a Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA) offer of coverage from the employer, where the affordability was d

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ACA Times

JUNE 29, 2021

Earlier this month the Supreme Court issued its decision to uphold the ACA, dismissing the challengers who asserted it was unconstitutional. So, what happens next? Now that the healthcare law is out of harm’s way for the foreseeable future, we thought it best to comment on Biden’s current ACA advancements and forecast where the administration will focus its priorities moving forward.

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ACA Times

NOVEMBER 6, 2014

Employer’s won’t be able to use so-called “skinny” health plans to meet coverage requirements of the Affordable Care Act , according to a notice issued Nov. 4 by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The agencies issued Notice 2014-69, which said employers cannot use plans that sharply limit for inpatient hospital services and/or physician services to meet the “ minimum Value” requirements of Internal Revenue Code section 4980H , commonly refer

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ACA Times

NOVEMBER 7, 2014

A key element the Act – the way the administration is distributing subsidies – is the subject a challenge that the Supreme Court today (Nov. 7, 2014) agreed to hear. Plaintiffs in the case, King v. Burwell , argue that the federal practices for handling the subsidies goes beyond what the 2010 Act authorized, and is therefore an unconstitutional encroachment on authority to control federal spending.

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ACA Times

NOVEMBER 8, 2014

In advance the November 15 beginning open under the Act , government technology are beefing up to avoid a repetition last year’s glitches. “We’re really making sure that website works super well,” President Obama said at a news conference. “We’re double- and triple-checking it.” Behind the scenes, the website is being equipped with “virtual rooms” that will be triggered if the system detects that more users are trying to access the system tha

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ACA Times

NOVEMBER 11, 2014

Obama administration officials say the number of Americans who will gain health coverage during 2015 through Affordable Care Act marketplaces will be about 30% lower than earlier estimates. Health and Human Services executives said 9 million to 9.9 million will have insurance under the ACA by the end of 2015. Several months ago the Congressional Budget Office predicted that the figure would be 13 million.

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ACA Times

DECEMBER 16, 2014

Covered California extended until midnight Dec. 21 the deadline for new and renewing consumers to enroll for that will be effective January 1, 2015. The deadline had been Dec. 15, as it is in most other states and for the federal exchange. A notice from the Covered California Assistance noted that, despite the extended deadline, its Center will be closed Sunday, Dec. 21.

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ACA Times

DECEMBER 17, 2014

The King v. Burwell case now before the Supreme Court has attracted heated rhetoric from both opponents and supporters the Act. But what would be the actual dollar impact if the Justices rule against the administration? First Capitol Inc. looked at the impact – consumers, and the – a pro-King ruling that disallowed subsidies in the 37 states without an independently operated exchange.

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ACA Times

DECEMBER 17, 2014

Grants totaling over $665 million will go to 28 states, 3 territories and the District Columbia to design and test innovative and delivery models aimed at improving quality and lowering costs under the Act. and Human Services Secretary Sylvia M. Burwell, announced the awards, funded by the Act, Dec. 16. A previous round awards with similar goals was released in early 2013.

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ACA Times

DECEMBER 30, 2014

About six in 10 Americans say they are in favor the Act’s Mandate, according to a poll by the Kaiser Family Foundation. However, the public’s opinion on the requirement that with 100 or more workers provide in 2015 shifts based how the mandate is explained, Kaiser reports. The share with a favorable view rises from 60 to 76 percent after those oppose are told that “most with 100 or more workers already and won’t have to pay the fine.”.

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ACA Times

JANUARY 8, 2015

Nearly 103,000 consumers selected Affordable Care Act plans on the federal health insurance exchange during the seventh week of open enrollment, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced Jan. 7. Total sign ups reached nearly 6.6 million since the enrollment began Nov. 15, 2014. The most recent report covers the period Dec. 27 to Jan. 2.

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ACA Times

JANUARY 13, 2015

With the start of 2015, it’s not too early for individuals and companies to think about tax planning. Following are some Affordable Care Act-related issues you may want to consider. The individual shared responsibility provision took effect on January 1 of 2014, but the similar provision for employers was delayed until this year. The IRS has also issued guidance on various provisions of the ACA, including how taxpayers should report premium assistance tax credits.

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ACA Times

JANUARY 15, 2015

Senator Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah) , Chairman the Senate Finance , introduced a bipartisan bill to repeal the 2.3% medical device enacted as the Act. Five Democrats and four Republicans signed as co-authors the bill. The was introduced in January 2013. Backers estimated it would raise $20 billion by 2020, to be used to offset some of the costs of the Act.

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ACA Times

JANUARY 26, 2015

Following disclosures that private consumer information on Healthcare.gov was being shared with more than 30 private companies, the Obama administration curtailed outside access to the Affordable Care Act data. Privacy advocates had found that 30 to 50 companies had been given access to a consumer’s information such as tobacco use and income, although without names or social security numbers.The government said the purpose was to customize the information viewed by website users to make it more

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ACA Times

JANUARY 28, 2015

Almost 137,300 consumers selected Affordable Care Act plans on the federal health insurance exchange during the 10th week of open enrollment, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced Jan. 28. Total sign ups topped 7.29 million since the enrollment began Nov. 15, 2014. The most recent report, which covers the period of Jan. 16 to Jan. 23, also included signup statistics for the 37 states that refer their residents to the HealthCare.gov website.

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