Skip to main content

2016 Healthcare Reform Compliance Checklist

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) has made a number of significant changes to group health plans since the law was enacted over four years ago. Many of these key reforms became effective in 2014 and 2015, including health plan design changes, increased wellness program incentives and the employer shared responsibility penalties.



Additional reforms take effect in 2016 for employers sponsoring group health plans. To prepare for 2016, employers should review upcoming requirements and develop a compliance strategy.



This Legislative Brief provides a health care reform compliance checklist for 2016. If you have questions about this document or changes that were required in previous years, please contact HANYS Benefit Services by calling (800) 388-1963 or email us at hbs@hanys.org for assistance.

Popular posts from this blog

What is HR vendor management? Overview with scenarios

Vendor management can be a litigious environment where efficiency, transparency and risk mitigation are paramount. With the right advisor in your organization’s corner, you’ll feel more confident navigating vendors and managing their services, ensuring streamlined processes and strategic alignment.   In this blog post, we'll cover the basics: What vendor management in HR entails, why it's important, how it can transform businesses and some scenarios in a few business types. Level up your knowledge and find the right partners to thrive.  Understanding vendor management in HR  Vendor management in HR involves the systematic management of third-party suppliers who provide goods and services essential to HR operations. This includes managing contracts, ensuring compliance with service level agreements and optimizing vendor performance to align with a company's long-term business goals.  A robust vendor management strategy can provide organizations with a structured ...

Section 125 – Cafeteria Plans Overview

A Section 125 plan, or cafeteria plan , allows employees to pay for certain benefits on a pre-tax basis. Employers use these plans to provide their employees with a choice between cash and certain qualified benefits without adverse tax consequences. Paying for benefits on a pre-tax basis reduces the employee’s taxable income and, therefore, reduces both the employee’s and the employer’s tax liability. To receive these tax advantages, a cafeteria plan must comply with the rules of Section 125 of the Internal Revenue Code and related IRS regulations. Under these rules, a Section 125 plan must have a written plan document and can only offer certain qualified benefits on a tax-favored basis. Once an employee makes a Section 125 plan election, they may not change that election until the next plan year, unless the employee experiences a permitted election change event. Also, for highly compensated employees to receive the tax advantages associated with a Section 125 plan, the plan must pass ...

FMLA Outsourcing: 6 Key Employer Insights

Organizations need help navigating employee leave of absence. With so many complex regulations, many employers consider outsourcing their employee leave programs to specialized third-party vendors. Compliance with the Family and Medical Leave Act, a federal law allowing eligible employees to take unpaid leave for personal reasons, is central to administering employee leave.  In this blog, we'll go more than six insights employers need about FMLA outsourcing. Use this as your go-to list as you weigh the potential benefits against the drawbacks.  1. Third-party prowess  Expertise is at the heart of the outsourcing question. Can your in-house human resource team competently manage the complexities of FMLA requirements? Or are there benefits to be gained from a third-party vendor’s specialized focus?  In-house HR staff might need help with FMLA regulations , causing compliance errors and/or knowledge gaps. In this case, it would make sense for employers to search fo...