Category: Compliance
ACA “Pay or Play” Penalties Increase for 2027
May 4, 2026, the IRS announced updated penalty amounts for 2027 under the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) employer shared responsibility, or “pay-or-play,” rules. For the 2027 calendar year, the $2,000 penalty has been adjusted to $3,780, and the $3,000 penalty has increased to $5,670. This marks a rise from 2026 levels of $3,340 and $5,010,…
HSA and HDHP Limits for 2027
On May 29, 2026, the IRS issued Revenue Procedure 2026-24, which sets the inflation-adjusted limits for health savings accounts (HSAs) and high deductible health plans (HDHPs) for 2027. The updated limits address: Each of these limits differs depending on whether the coverage is for an individual or a family under an HDHP.
Employee Benefits Compliance Brief June 2026
IRS Releases 2027 HSA, HDHP, and Excepted-Benefit HRA Limits The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has released the inflation-adjusted health savings account (HSA), high-deductible health plan (HDHP), and excepted-benefit health reimbursement arrangement (HRA) limits for 2027. These annual adjustments provide employers with an early opportunity to evaluate benefit strategies, update employee communications, and prepare plan documents…
Employee Benefits Compliance Brief May 2026
A New Era of Health and Welfare Fiduciary Litigation Health and welfare plan fiduciaries are entering a period of increased legal scrutiny. For many years, fiduciary litigation under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) focused primarily on retirement plans, and particularly on allegations of excessive fees involving 401(k) plans. More recently, however,…
Compliance Briefing | April
DOL Extends Comment Period on Proposed PBM Fee Disclosure Rule The Department of Labor (DOL) has announced a short extension to the comment period for its proposed rule on pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) compensation transparency. The rule is intended to strengthen disclosure requirements for PBMs and related service providers working with self-insured group health plans subject to…
Filing Form 5500
If your company provides an employee benefit plan governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), you are likely obligated to file Form 5500. This annual report discloses key details about your organization’s benefit offerings, such as welfare benefit plans (including medical, dental, life, and disability coverage), retirement plans, fully insured plans, and self-funded…
Compliance Briefing | March
March ACA Reporting Deadlines for 2025 Calendar Year Plans Each year, employers subject to Affordable Care Act (ACA) reporting must complete several federal filing requirements early in the calendar year. March is the most critical compliance month for ACA reporting because it includes the primary deadline for furnishing employee statements and the electronic filing deadline with…
Compliance Briefing | February
Updated HIPAA Notice of Privacy Practices Required in 2026 Employers that sponsor self-funded group health plans should prepare for upcoming changes to the HIPAA Notice of Privacy Practices (NPP). Federal privacy rules require group health plans to provide plan participants with an NPP explaining how their protected health information (PHI) is used, disclosed, and safeguarded.…
Compliance Briefing | January
2026 Transparency in Coverage (TiC) Posting Requirements Employers sponsoring non-grandfathered, self-funded group health plans and health insurance issuers remain responsible for the ongoing Transparency in Coverage (TiC) public posting requirements. Plans must publicly post machine-readable files (MRFs) that disclose in-network negotiated rates, out-of-network allowed amounts, and billed charges for covered items and services. For fully…
ACA Update: IRS Announces 2027 Cost-Sharing Limits
On January 29, 2026, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) officially released the maximum cost-sharing limits for the 2027 plan year. These figures represent a significant 13.2% increase over the 2026 limits, marking a substantial shift in potential out-of-pocket expenses for plan participants. 2027 Maximum Out-of-Pocket Limits For 2027, the maximum annual…