31 pages. "[ECFC agrees] that the payment of [individual market (IM)] policy premiums is a permissible cafeteria plan qualified benefit and that the provision of such coverage through the cafeteria plan continues to be exempt from income and employment tax under the Internal Revenue Code. We also agree that a cafeteria plan, in and of itself, is not a group health plan subject to the ACA. However, the Agency Guidance clearly states that any arrangement, which pays or reimburses an employee's IM policy premiums on a pre-tax basis would be an 'employer payment plan', which the Agency Guidance clearly indicates is a 'group health plan' subject to the ACA. The Agency Guidance is also clear that an employer payment plan violates the ACA and employers who sponsor such arrangements would be subject to a potential excise tax of $100 per employee per day."

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