MENUMENU
  • FREE RESOURCES
        • Accounts Payable
          Finally! The trick to securing greater T&E compliance
          Benefits
          Rooting out folks who don’t belong on your health plan: A 6-point dependent audit checklist
          IT
          3 costly misconceptions about biz email compromise
          Credit and Collections
          Collecting via email: 4 must-make moves in your subject line
          Accounts Payable
          5 Tough-to-spot signs that an invoice is fake
  • PREMIUM CONTENT
        • Staff management
          120 Proven Communications Tips for Today’s CFO
        • Payroll
          Handling Nonexempt Employee Pay: Stay Compliant and Avoid DOL Audits
          Accounts Payable
          T&E Best Practices: Complete Guide to Ensure Compliance
          Payroll
          Payroll Best Practices: 4 Ways to Save Time and Money
        • Staff management
          Email Best Practices: A 6-Question Quiz
          Staff management
          Innovative Communications Strategies: An Email Case Study
          Staff management
          A 5-part Framework for Successful Workplace Communications
        • SEE MORE
          PREMIUM RESOURCES
  • CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES
  • LOGIN
  • SIGN UP FREE

CFO Daily News

MENUMENU
  • FREE RESOURCES
        • Accounts Payable
          Finally! The trick to securing greater T&E compliance
          Benefits
          Rooting out folks who don’t belong on your health plan: A 6-point dependent audit checklist
          IT
          3 costly misconceptions about biz email compromise
          Credit and Collections
          Collecting via email: 4 must-make moves in your subject line
          Accounts Payable
          5 Tough-to-spot signs that an invoice is fake
  • PREMIUM CONTENT
        • Staff management
          120 Proven Communications Tips for Today’s CFO
        • Payroll
          Handling Nonexempt Employee Pay: Stay Compliant and Avoid DOL Audits
          Accounts Payable
          T&E Best Practices: Complete Guide to Ensure Compliance
          Payroll
          Payroll Best Practices: 4 Ways to Save Time and Money
        • Staff management
          Email Best Practices: A 6-Question Quiz
          Staff management
          Innovative Communications Strategies: An Email Case Study
          Staff management
          A 5-part Framework for Successful Workplace Communications
        • SEE MORE
          PREMIUM RESOURCES
  • CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES
  • Accounts Payable
  • Credit and Collections
  • Payroll
  • Accounting
  • Benefits
  • Finance Technology
  • More
    • Employment Law
    • Strategy
    • Policy and Culture
    • Fraud
    • Payments and Transactions
    • Budgeting and Forecasting
    • Banking
    • Staff Management
    • Cost Control
    • Supply Chain
    • IT

New law allows previously illegal Obamacare workaround

Jared Bilski
by Jared Bilski
December 23, 2016
  • Accounting
  • Benefits
2 minute read
  • SHARE ON

While the ultimate fate of the ACA remains uncertain at best, Finance pros may soon be able to use a key compliance strategy that was recently taken away from them.

President Obama just signed into law the 21st Century Cures Act (H.R. 34), a complex piece of legislation that, among other things, allows some small employers to maintain general purpose stand-alone HRAs without violating the ACA.

The new rules would apply to plan years beginning after Dec. 31, 2016.

Overrides IRS stance

If you recall, the IRS took a hard-line stance against stand-alone HRAs. In an FAQ, the agency clarified that if firms set up a plan that contributes un-taxed money to employees to help them pay for insurance premiums (i.e., a stand-alone HRA), it violates the health reform law.

Reason: Providing employees with a pre-determined dollar amount in an HRA that they can apply toward the purchase of health coverage on the individual health insurance market will violate the healthcare reform law’s ban on lifetime and annual dollar limits on coverage.

And the IRS warned firms it could slap them with a $100 per day, per employee fine for setting up such a plan.

End result: a potential $36,500 annual per-employee fine.

However,the new bill passed by Congress would essentially override the IRS’ stance on stand-alone HRAs for qualified small businesses.

To be a qualified small employer HRA under the bill, the HRA must be provided on the same terms to all eligible employees. However, the act does allow benefits under the HRA to vary based on age and family-size variations in the insurance policy in the relevant individual health insurance market.

The long, complex bill also includes provisions geared toward improving the Mental Health Parity Act — such as mandatory audits of plans and insurers that have violated the Mental Health Parity Act at least five times — and clarifying the use of protected health information (PHI) under HIPAA.

Keep Up To Date with the Latest Finance News

With CFO Daily News arriving in your inbox, you will never miss critical stories on accounting, benefits, payroll & employment law strategies.

Sign up for a free CFO Daily News membership and get our newsletter!
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
CFO Daily News Logo
  • ABOUT CFO DAILY NEWS
  • ADVERTISE WITH US
  • WRITE FOR US
  • CONTACT
  • Accounting
  • Benefits
  • Payroll
  • Policy and Culture
  • Employment Law
  • Fraud
  • Finance Technology
  • Accounts Payable
  • Credit and Collections
  • Strategy
  • Payments and Transactions
  • Budgeting and Forecasting
  • Banking
  • Staff Management
  • Cost Control
  • Supply Chain
  • IT

CFO Daily News, part of the SuccessFuel Network, provides the latest Finance and employment law news for Finance professionals in the trenches of small-to-medium-sized businesses. Rather than simply regurgitating the day’s headlines, CFO Daily News delivers actionable insights, helping Finance execs understand what Finance trends mean to their business.

Privacy Policy Terms of Service
Copyright © 2021 SuccessFuel

WELCOME BACK!

Enter your username and password below to log in

Forget Your Username or Password?

Reset Password

Lost your password? Please enter your username or email address. You will receive a link to create a new password via email.

Log In

preloader