On Feb. 16, 2017, Republican leadership in the U.S. House of Representatives issued a policy brief describing its intended approach for replacing the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

Since the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was enacted in 2010, employers and health insurance issuers have had to make numerous changes to employer-sponsored group health plans offered to employees. If the ACA is repealed, many plan terms may no longer be required. These changes may be beneficial for employers, but could be confusing or, in some cases, unwelcome for employees.

The ultimate impact of repealing the ACA will depend on the specific details of the repeal, and any replacement, that is enacted. While steps have been made toward repeal, it is unclear what impact those steps may have or what an ACA replacement will look like.

On Jan. 20, 2017, President Donald Trump signed an executive order addressing the Affordable Care Act (ACA), as his first act as president. The order states that it is intended to “to minimize the unwarranted economic and regulatory burdens” of the ACA until the law can be repealed and eventually replaced.

The executive order broadly directs the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and other federal agencies to waive, delay or grant exemptions from ACA requirements that may impose a financial burden.

On Jan. 13, 2017, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a budget resolution for fiscal year 2017 to begin the process of repealing the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

The current federal minimum wage rate is .25 per hour. However, many states have adopted minimum wage rates higher than the federal rate. When the state rate and the federal rate are different, employers must pay their employees the higher rate.

While the deadlines for 2016 reporting are as firm as a plaster cast, we can expect the timing for replacing ACA provisions to be as stretched out as a tight bandage. Replacement legislation and its enforcement regulations are unlikely to be ready for implementation before 2019. This should signal to employers that the internal Revenue Service is likely to enforce the Employer Mandate for at least another two years, keeping the reporting bandage painfully taut for now.
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Time is running out to obtain health insurance.

There is not much time left to take advantage of open enrollment in the Health Insurance Marketplace. Sign up for insurance before the December 15th deadline passes to get affordable coverage.

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On Nov. 18, 2016, the IRS issued Notice 2016-70 to:

Young adults all over the country are leaving home when they go to college or enter the workforce. In your outreach, education, and enrollment efforts geared toward young adults and their families, let them know that if they don’t have an offer of employer-sponsored coverage that is affordable (according to the Affordable Care Act definition) and meets minimum value (MV), young adults have other options to get covered.
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Remind these consumers that if they don’t have any health coverage, they may have to pay the individual shared responsibility payment when they file federal income taxes, and that there is no special exception for age or student status.

Following numerous reports of scammers sending fraudulent versions of CP2000 notices during the 2015 tax year, the IRS and its Security Summit partners are warning taxpayers to be on high alert for the 2016 tax year and all subsequent tax years.