The Affordable Care Act (ACA) created a number of federal reporting requirements for employers and health plans. The additional reporting is intended to promote transparency with respect to health plan coverage and costs. It will also provide the government with information to administer other ACA mandates, such as the large employer shared responsibility penalty and […]
Employers and plan administrators should make sure they are aware of which employees are entitled to Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) coverage. Problems can arise if COBRA is not offered to someone who is eligible to elect COBRA coverage, or if it is offered to someone who is not eligible. Under the COBRA rules, […]
Many employers offer high-deductible health plans (HDHPs) to control premium costs, and then pair this coverage with health savings accounts (HSAs) to help employees with their health care expenses. An HSA is a tax-favored trust or account that can be contributed to by, or on behalf of, an eligible individual to pay qualified medical expenses. […]
The pandemic presented many learning opportunities for organizations as they pivoted and learned how to be resilient during uncertain times. The 2021 open enrollment season was one such opportunity, and many employers rose to the challenge by exploring new ways to engage and educate their employees about their benefits. With open enrollment approaching and hybrid/remote […]
For the past two decades, health costs have increased each year. This happens for a variety of reasons, such as inflation or, say, a global pandemic. With that in mind, employers can bank on prices going up in 2022. According to a PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) report, medical costs are projected to increase 6.5% in 2022. This […]
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) imposes a dollar limit on employees’ salary reduction contributions to health flexible spending accounts (FSAs) offered under cafeteria plans. This dollar limit is indexed for cost-of-living adjustments and may be increased each year. On Nov. 10, 2021, the IRS released Revenue Procedure 2021-45 (Rev. Proc. 21- 45), which announced that […]
Employers are increasingly using electronic media in connection with their employee benefit plans, including their group health plans. In general, federal law allows employers to provide most health plan notices electronically, provided they comply with certain rules regarding electronic delivery. Department of Labor (DOL) regulations contain a safe harbor under which employers may use electronic […]
Attracting and retaining employees is a constant struggle for organizations of any size, but it’s particularly so for small businesses. With smaller teams, employers need to hold onto talent whenever possible. And that can be a challenge, especially when resources are scarce as they are currently amid the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. That’s […]
Beginning in 2020, California imposed a state individual mandate that requires individuals in California to maintain acceptable health coverage or pay a penalty. The California law largely mirrors the federal individual mandate requirement under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that was effectively eliminated, beginning in 2019. California was among the first states to enact its […]
How Employers Should Handle MLR Rebates The Affordable Care Act (ACA) established medical loss ratio (MLR) rules to help control health care coverage costs and ensure that enrollees receive value for their premium dollars. The MLR rules require health insurance issuers to spend 80-85 percent of premium dollars on medical care and health care quality […]
