Tool Lays Out Reform Law Timetables

Employee Benefit News and Employee Benefit Advisor, two sister publications of Health Data Management, have developed the PPACA Interactive Timeline, a Web service that lays out and briefly explains more than 40 provisions of the Accountable Care Act and when the provisions become effective between 2010 and 2018.

For instance, provisions kicking in during 2011 include:

* Cafeteria plan safe harbor rules;

* New voluntary long-term care coverage through a federal program;

* An increased penalty for nonqualified withdrawals from HSAs and Archer MSAs;

* Prohibiting FSA, HSA and HRA reimbursement of most over-the-counter medicines without a prescription;

* Reporting of the value of employer-sponsored health coverage on the employee's W-2 excluding salary reduction amounts to health FSAs, HSAs, and MSAs; and

* Creation of a 5-year grant program awarded by HHS to eligible small employers to form comprehensive workplace wellness programs.

The PPACA Interactive Timeline is available here.

--Joseph Goedert