IRS Issues 30,000 ACA Penalty Notices

The IRS has been sending penalty notices to more than 30,000 businesses nationwide, advising them that they may be out of compliance with the Affordable Care Act employer mandate. The tax agency said those employers are on the hook for a total of roughly $4.3 billion in fines.

While the individual mandate has been repealed starting in 2019, the employer mandate is intact and the IRS is pursuing penalties aggressively.Read More

IRS Announces 2019 HSA Contribution Limits, Changes for HDHPs

The IRS has increased health savings account contribution limits for 2019, along with changes to the out-of-pocket expenses for HSA-qualifying high-deductible health plans (HDHPs).

The 2019 HSA contribution maximum will be $3,500 for individual coverage, from $3,450 this year. The contribution maximum for family coverage will increase to $7,000 from the current $6,900.Read More

With ACA Partly Dismantled, States Step up to Fix Markets

As further efforts to dismantle the Affordable Care Act have stalled this year in Washington, last year’s moves by the Trump administration and Congress have left a fractured law on the books, forcing many states to take matters into their own hands.

Different states face different ACA issues, depending on demographics and population densities, which affect the number of providers and insurers willing to write business in each individual state.Read More

Skyrocketing Drug Prices Threaten Health Insurance Model

The US is experiencing a prescription drug pricing epidemic, and some drug companies are driving a wedge into the health insurance model by severely jacking up pharmaceutical prices to astronomical levels.

Unfortunately, the cost of some drugs has become so extreme that by paying for one prescription it could take decades to recoup the cost in premium collections.Read More

New Rules Issued for Small Group, Individual Plans

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has released its final rules on giving states more power to regulate individual and small group health insurance markets.

The new rules are part of the Trump administration’s effort to dismantle the Affordable Care Act after numerous GOP efforts to repeal the law failed in 2017.Read More

Medicare Advantage Plans Get Big Boost for 2019

Reflecting health care cost trends, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has issued a final rule increasing payments to Medicare Advantage plans to 3.4% in 2019.

The announcement was part of a larger one on changes that will affect Medicare Advantage plans starting 2019, including more lax rules on what can be covered expenses for medical purposes.Read More

Individual Mandate Repeal Could Spur Interest in Short-Term Plans

One of the likely consequences of the repeal of the Affordable Care Act individual mandate under the tax overhaul that President Trump signed into law right before Christmas is a migration to short-term health plans.

These plans are essentially low-cost, low-coverage plans that do not comply with the ACA’s protections and benefits. They are not your typical health insurance plans, as they are only really good for catastrophic coverage and do not cover run-of-the-mill medical procedures like doctors’ visits and the cost of medications.Read More

Fallout from GOP Tax Bill on Health Coverage

The GOP’s tax bill, which seems on its way to passage in Congress and eventual enactment, will have a number of spillover effects on the health insurance markets, for commercial and individual policies alike.

To get more Republicans on board, the Senate leadership added a provision that eliminates penalties for individuals who do not secure health coverage either through their employers or on their own on publicly run exchanges.Read More