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December 5, 2018

Health

CMS Announces Four Relief Waiver Concepts for State Health Insurance Markets

On November 29, 2018, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced the release of four relief waiver concepts designed to illustrate how states can waive certain Affordable Care Act provisions under Section 1332 of the law. These waiver concepts build on the October 24, 2018, guidance on Section 1332 waivers, now known as State Relief and Empowerment Waivers. According to the CMS, under this new guidance, states are “empowered to innovate new health care programs aimed at reaching important goals, including strengthening their health insurance markets, expanding choices of coverage, and targeting public resources to those most in need.” The four waiver concepts announced by the CMS are:

  • Account-based subsidies;
  • State-specific premium assistance;
  • Adjusted plan options; and
  • Risk stabilization strategies.

The CMS fact sheet, including the relief waiver concepts, is available here.

The news release is available here.

The October 24, 2018, Section 1332 guidance is available here.

Additional information on Section 1332 State Innovation Waivers is available here.

IRS Releases Extended Due Dates for Certain 2018 Information Reporting Requirements
On November 29, 2018, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released Notice 2018-94, which extends the due dates for certain 2018 information reporting requirements for insurers, self-insuring employers, and certain other providers of minimum essential coverage under Section 6055 and for applicable large employers under Section 6056. Specifically, the Notice extends the due date for furnishing to individuals the 2018 Form 1095-B, Health Coverage, and the 2017 Form 1095-C, Employer-Provided Health Insurance Offer and Coverage, from January 31, 2019, to March 4, 2019. This Notice also extends transitional good-faith relief from Section 6721 and 6722 penalties to the 2018 information reporting requirements under Sections 6055 and 6056.

For additional information, please see the Aon bulletin IRS Extends Due Date for Furnishing Form 1095-C and Form 1095-B in the Publications section.

IRS Notice 2018-94 is available here.

Aon Publications

IRS Extends Due Date for Furnishing Form 1095-C and Form 1095-B

On November 29, 2018, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) published Notice 2018-94, which provides employers and insurers an extension of time to furnish 2018 Forms 1095-B and 1095-C to individuals from January 31, 2019, to March 4, 2019. The IRS will also once again provide penalty relief for filers who make information reporting errors but demonstrate good faith efforts to comply with the Affordable Care Act (ACA) reporting requirements.

The Aon bulletin, which discusses the details of Notice 2018-94, is available here.

IRS Offers Employers a Peek at Future Guidance on I-HRAs
Less than a month after the Trump Administration issued proposed regulations expanding the use of health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs) to include purchasing individual health insurance policies sold in the individual insurance market and on the public Exchanges, the IRS issued Notice 2018-88 addressing how the expanded use of HRAs might satisfy the ACA employer mandate and how the IRS anticipates modifying the Internal Revenue Code’s nondiscrimination rules to apply to the new HRAs, known as individual coverage HRAs (I-HRAs).

The Aon bulletin, which discusses I-HRAs in more depth, is available here.

Now Available: Retirement Legal Consulting & Compliance Quarterly Update
The Retirement Legal Consulting & Compliance practice is pleased to present its Quarterly Update of recent legal developments and consulting opportunities for the fourth quarter of 2018. In this issue you will find the following articles:

  • Will Your Employees Be Retirement Ready?
  • IRS Reopens and Expands PLRs on Stranded VEBA Assets
  • 2019 Limits for Benefit Plans
  • IRS Provides Tips to Avoid Incomplete VCP Submissions
  • EPCRS Guidance Requires Paperless VCP Submissions
  • Missing Participants and the State Escheat Problem
  • 401(k) Hardship Distributions—New Developments
  • Managing Covered Service Provider Disclosures
  • Quarterly Roundup of Other New Developments

The fourth quarter 2018 issue of the Retirement Legal Consulting & Compliance Quarterly Update is available here.