February 21, 2014
For plan years beginning on or after Jan. 1, 2014, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) prohibits group health plans and group health insurance issuers from applying any waiting period that exceeds 90 days. On Feb. 20, 2014, the Departments of Labor (DOL), Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Treasury (the Departments) released final regulations on the 90-day waiting period limit. These regulations generally finalize provisions in proposed regulations issued in March 2013, with minimal changes.
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February 12, 2014
On Feb. 10, 2014, the U.S. Treasury Department released final regulations implementing the employer shared responsibility provisions of the ACA. The regulations are effective upon publication in the Federal Register.
Delay for Medium-sized Businesses
According to the Departments, approximately 96 percent of employers are small businesses that have fewer than 50 workers and are exempt from the employer responsibility provisions. The employer shared responsibility provisions apply only to applicable large employers that have 50 or more full-time employees.
The final rules will delay implementation for medium-sized employers that are covered by the employer mandate. Applicable large employers that have fewer than 100 full-time employees will have an additional year, until 2016, to comply with the pay or play rules.
Thus, the employer shared responsibility provisions will generally apply to: Click Here to download the whole article.
