Vigilant Blog

Did you know that paying COBRA health insurance premiums for separated employees may disqualify them from enrolling in private health insurance through the Federal health insurance Marketplace (Marketplace) or a state’s health Exchange (Exchange)? In the past, when creating a severance package, many employers have offered to pay a specified number of months of the…

Although the IRS has stated that reimbursing or paying the premiums for employees’ individual health insurance violates the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the agency is temporarily cutting some slack for small employers. According to IRS Notice 2015-17, employers with fewer than 50 full-time or full-time-equivalent employees who reimburse or pay for medical insurance premiums for…

IRS Notice 2013-71 allows employers to amend their cafeteria plan documents to provide that up to $500 in unspent FSA funds can be rolled over to reimburse qualified medical expenses incurred during that subsequent plan year. Some employers already offer a “grace period” under their FSA, where employees can continue to incur expenses during the…

In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) was unconstitutional in providing that marriage for purposes of federal law means one man and one woman, the IRS recently issued guidance on its new stance on same-sex spouses. According to IRS Notice 2013-17, for federal…

The Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Treasury (IRS) and Labor (DOL) have jointly issued final rules governing employee incentives offered under a group health plan’s nondiscriminatory wellness program. The rules, which apply to plan years beginning on or after January 1, 2014, divide employee wellness programs into two types: “participatory” wellness programs…

Employers rarely hear great news from the IRS, but they really came through this time. The IRS announced yesterday that implementation of the employer shared responsibility mandate (also known as the “pay or play” mandate) will be delayed until 2015. (The mandate requires that employers of 50 or more full-time employees provide substantially all full-time…

The federal agencies in charge of issuing guidance on the federal Affordable Care Act’s requirements have been busy. Updates on three different notice requirements have been issued recently: • Model COBRA Election Notice: The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has updated its model COBRA election notice to inform COBRA qualified beneficiaries that, as of January…