HIGHLIGHTS

• The IRS recently announced cost-of-living adjustments to the annual dollar limits for employee benefit plans.
• Many of these limits will increase for 2018.
• In 2018, employees may contribute more money to their HSAs, health FSAs and 401(k) accounts.

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The ACA has made a number of significant changes to group health plans since the law was enacted in 2010. Certain changes to some ACA requirements take effect in 2018 for employers sponsoring group health plans, such as increased dollar limits. To prepare for 2018, employers should review upcoming requirements and develop a compliance strategy.

On Oct. 6, 2017, the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services and the Treasury (Departments) issued two interim final rules expanding certain exemptions from the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) contraceptive coverage mandate.

On Sept. 27, 2017, the Trump administration—in conjunction with Republican Congressional leadership—released a tax reform plan designed to make significant changes to the federal tax code. This plan is intended to serve as a template for the Congressional tax writing committees that will develop tax reform legislation.

The IRS Office of Chief Counsel has recently issued several information letters regarding the Affordable Care Act’s individual and employer mandate penalties. These letters clarify that:

In the early morning hours of July 28, 2017, members of the U.S. Senate voted 49-51 to reject a “skinny” version of a bill to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA), called the Health Care Freedom Act (HCFA).
This was the final vote of the Senate’s 20-hour debate period, and effectively ends the Republicans’ current efforts to repeal and replace the ACA. However, the skinny repeal bill may be reintroduced at some point in the future.

On May 4, 2017, the U.S. House of Representatives passed its proposed bill to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA), called the American Health Care Act (AHCA). Then, on June 22, 2017, Republicans in the U.S. Senate released a discussion draft of their proposal, called the Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA). On July 3, 2017, the Congressional Research Service (CRS) issued a comparison report of the House’s AHCA and the Senate’s BCRA.

The opioid epidemic--a key focal point of health care reform negotiations in Washington—resulted in 22,000 deaths nationally in 2015 alone, and according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “prescription opioids continue to be involved in more overdose deaths than any other drug.”

On June 22, 2017, Republicans in the U.S. Senate released a draft of their proposal to repeal and replace the ACA, called the Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA). The Senate bill closely mirrors the proposal passed in the House of Representatives—the American Health Care Act (AHCA)—with some differences. For example, unlike the AHCA, the BCRA: