At issue in Halbig v. Burwell and King v. Burwell is whether or not subsidies to buy insurance on an exchange are available in both state and federal exchanges. On its face the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) provides for subsidies only in state exchanges. The Treasury Department wrote regulations in 2012, however, confirming that
Hobby Lobby: The Supreme Court’s View and Its Impact
For the second time in two years the United States Supreme Court (the “Court”) has ruled against the Obama Administration with respect to elements of the Affordable Care Act (the “ACA”). In a 5-4 decision announced today in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. (“Hobby Lobby”) (f/k/a Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc.), the Court ruled that the federal government, acting through Health and Human Services (“HHS”), overstepped its bounds by requiring faith-based private, for-profit employers to pay for certain forms of birth control that those employers argued contradicted their religious beliefs, in violation of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 (“RFRA”).
In Hobby Lobby, the Court found that for-profit employers are “persons” for purposes of the RFRA. The Court, assuming that the government could show a compelling interest in its desire to provide women with access to birth control, ultimately held that the government could have met this interest in a less burdensome way.
Final Regulations on Orientation Periods Released
On June 20, the Federal regulatory agencies in charge of health care reform guidance (the Departments of Labor, Treasury, and Health and Human Services) released final regulations (“Final Regulations”) clarifying the relationship between a group health plan’s eligibility criteria and the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) 90-day limit on waiting periods. Specifically, the Final Regulations (published
Relief for Multiemployer Plans (and the Employers That Love Them)
As previously reported, on Monday, February 10, 2014, the IRS released final regulations on the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) employer “shared responsibility” provisions, also known as the “pay-or-play” mandate. While the final regulations have (predictably) received mixed reviews, some employers – most notably those with 50 to 99 employees or those that covered almost but not quite 95% of their full-time employees – were likely pleased with at least some of the provisions.
A review of the final regulations shows that there is another group with something to celebrate, at least for now – employers contributing to multiemployer plans. The final regulations contain interim guidance that largely mimics and extends a special transition rule contained in the preamble to the proposed regulations. This rule, which previously only applied in 2014, simplified compliance with the pay-or-play mandate for employers with collectively bargained employees for whom contributions are made to a multiemployer plan. It was unclear whether this interim guidance would be extended.