Voya 2014 Annual Report Download - page 82

Health Care Reform Legislation
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, signed into law on March 23, 2010, and The Health Care
and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, signed into law on March 30, 2010 (together, the “Health Care Act”),
may lead to fundamental changes in the way that employers, including us, provide health care benefits, other
benefits and other forms of compensation to their employees and former employees. Among other changes, and
subject to various effective dates, the Health Care Act generally restricts certain limits on benefits, mandates
coverage for certain kinds of care, extends the required coverage of dependent children through age 26,
eliminates pre-existing condition exclusions or limitations, requires cost reporting and, in some cases, requires
premium rebates to participants under certain circumstances, limits coverage waiting periods, establishes
penalties on employers who fail to offer sufficient coverage to their full-time employees and requires employers
under certain circumstances to provide employees with vouchers to purchase their own health care coverage.
While we have integrated these new requirements into our benefit plans, we cannot reasonably predict the
long-term impact of the Health Care Act, and any regulations or guidance related to the Health Care Act, on the
marketplace and us as an employer or on the benefit plans we sponsor for employees or retirees and their
dependents, or whether those benefits will remain competitive or effective in meeting their business objectives in
the future. The Health Care Act also significantly impacts how employers provide health care to employees and
how individuals obtain health care insurance. In response, we periodically benchmark our health plans to ensure
they remain competitive within our industry and are responsive to market changes. Although we anticipate our
short-term health plan costs will be in line with general employer medical plan inflationary trends, our long-term
costs to provide such benefits and our tax liabilities in connection with benefits or compensation cannot be
predicted with certainty.
There is significant uncertainty surrounding the impact of the Health Care Act on insurers which may create
risks to products we offer, including Stop Loss Insurance sold to employers offering self-insured health plans. In
addition, should the Treasury Department issue guidance concluding that insurers offering Stop Loss Insurance
are considered health care providers, we may face adverse tax or other financial consequences.
U.S. Supreme Court Decision regarding Defense of Marriage Act
Prior to June 26, 2013, Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (“DOMA”) dictated that same-sex
marriages were not recognized for purposes of federal law. On that date, the United States Supreme Court held in
United States v. Windsor that Section 3 of DOMA is unconstitutional. The Supreme Court however, did not
strike down Section 2 of DOMA, which recognized each state’s ability to determine what constitutes valid
marriage within its own state. The Windsor decision affects over 1,000 federal laws and regulations, many of
which touch upon our services and procedures. The IRS and DOL have issued guidance affirming that they will
regard individuals as married if the marriage is valid under the laws of the jurisdiction where the marriage took
place. In the wake of the Windsor decision, a majority of states began recognizing same-sex marriage and many
courts held that state prohibitions on same-sex marriage are unconstitutional. A recent decision by the Sixth
Circuit Court of Appeals, however, reversed this trend and upheld same-sex marriage prohibitions by states
within the Sixth Circuit. The Supreme Court agreed to hear the appeal of these Sixth Circuit cases and a decision
is expected in June of 2015. It is anticipated that the Supreme Court’s decision regarding the Sixth Circuit cases
will assist in resolving conflict among the Circuits, as well as some of the open issues pertaining to non-
recognition states, including inconsistencies in the application of federal and state laws and how tax withholding
is computed. Although we recognize that certain changes may be required as a result of the Supreme Court’s
anticipated decision, we cannot predict with certainty how the decision or potential new regulations will impact
our business, results of operations, cash flows or financial condition. It is also possible that future guidance from
the Internal Revenue Service and state tax authorities may resolve these inconsistencies. Accordingly, it is
possible that significant changes will be required to our tax reporting and withholding systems as a result.
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