Producers
A stand-out strategy for small businesses: Voluntary benefits enable small companies to do more with less
The competition for talent is fierce for small businesses. One in four say the talent pool for their open positions is poor, [1] and the Society for Human Resource Management lists retaining employees as one of the top three issues facing companies with 3-99 employees (along with employee productivity and controlling health insurance costs).[2]
Agency officials were busy last week releasing updated forms and publications while also proposing new rules that would generally impact health plans in 2020. Here are three important releases which are now available:
The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) requires employers to provide a Summary Plan Description (SPD) to employees if they offer health, dental, vision, life, disability or other benefits.
This does not apply to all employers. Please read full article below for details.
2018 ACA Reporting Deadlines are Approaching
It’s that time of year where applicable large employers (ALEs) and certain other employers need to focus on completing their reporting obligations required under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Here are some helpful tips and reminders.
Using a debit card just got a whole lot easier!
You may be familiar with Medicare’s open enrollment period (OEP) which occurs each fall. From October 15th until December 7th of each year, Medicare beneficiaries can enroll in a Medicare Advantage or Part D plan of their choice. This includes enrolling in a plan for the first time or changing to a new plan.
Whether it be to inflation adjustments, new laws, tweaks to existing regulations or other reasons, each new year brings changes to health plans and other benefits. Here is a summary of 10 important changes taking effect in 2019.
1) There will be no penalty under federal law if you don’t have health insurance. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act made the cost for not having health insurance $0 starting in 2019.
Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) allow eligible individuals to put money aside tax-free to pay for out-of-pocket medical expenses, but HSAs work differently than other tax-advantaged accounts. Here are 10 helpful tips and reminders as the year comes to an end.
Last Friday, a federal judge in Texas ruled the Affordable Care Act (a.k.a. Obamacare) unconstitutional.
The judge’s decision came in response to a lawsuit filed by 20 Republican state attorneys general earlier this year. The lawsuit was filed after the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act zeroed out the Individual Mandate penalty. The lawsuit claimed the Individual Mandate was so essential to Obamacare, and without it, all of Obamacare must go. The judge agreed.
Illinois state legislators passed a law last month which makes several changes to short-term medical (STM) plans. The most significant change limits the maximum duration of coverage to periods that are less than 181 days (i.e. 180 days). This change applies as of November 27, 2018, which is the date the law was enacted. The immediate effective date did not provide a window of time for insurance carriers to adjust their STM plans to the shorter durations of coverage.