The IRS just ruled on December 22, 2011, to delay the Non-Discrimination Rules with respect to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) which became law on September 23, 2011 and is being enforced as your group health plan renews on or after that date. The PPACA original legislation prevented an employer from having a different eligibility rule in favor of highly compensated employees.
The delay in enforcement is confirmed with the issued NOTICE 2011-1. The notice states that the DOL and Health and Human Services will NOT require fully insured plans to comply with the nondiscrimination rules until final regulations are issued. While we don’t anticipate the Nondiscrimination rules to be delayed forever, there are more pressing issues in Washington at this time as the newly elected Congress looks to appeal some or all of the Obama Health Care Plan.
As always, we appreciate your business and hope you find our Health Care Reform legislative updates informative.
