Joe Markland, an industry expert on HR and benefits technology, recently made the following predictions about the future of employee benefits: "[1] HRIS/Benefits Technologies without Payroll will become obsolete.... [2] The majority of employers with fewer than 100 employees will look for a single-source technology and services solution in the future.... [3] There will be [...]

The President recently signed legislation repealing health care reform's automatic enrollment requirement. As background, health care reform required employers that were subject to the FLSA, that had more than 200 full-time employees, and that had one or more health benefit plans to automatically enroll new full-time employees in one of the employer's group health plans [...]

"The Employee Benefits Security Agency (EBSA) of the DOL plans to publish new claims procedures...for adjudicating disability benefits.... Procedures would need to be designed to ensure independence and impartiality of the persons making the decision.... Denial notices would be required to provide a full discussion of the basis for denial and the standards behind the [...]

"In their testimony before the Senate Judiciary subcommittee on antitrust, Mark T. Bertolini of Aetna and Joseph R. Swedish of Anthem emphasized that health care is delivered largely on a local basis, and they argued that markets would remain competitive if they completed their mergers. Both CEOs also said their deals would benefit consumers and [...]

"Nearly nine in ten employers have calculated whether their health plan will trigger the Cadillac tax, and 60% say that without any future changes, their plan will face the tax.... Of those that are on track to trigger the tax, 62% say they will likely face the tax right away in 2018. An additional 10% [...]

"The vast majority of employers that offer HSA-qualified high-deductible health plans (HDHPs) offer the ability for employees to make pre-tax payroll HSA contributions and even encourage them to do so. For now, such contributions count towards the calculation of the gross cost of 'high cost' health coverage for excise tax purposes. Should employers take away [...]

"Employers should be aware... that in the spring of 2016, the first notices they receive, if any, will be from the IRS, not from the exchanges. Assessable payment liability notices from the IRS will, at that time, indicate that at least one of an employer's employees received an advance premium tax credit (APTC) in 2015. [...]

[1] Employer shared-responsibility (ESR) strategy.... [2] ESR reporting.... [3] Preventive care.... [4] Other ACA reporting and disclosure requirements.... [5] Midyear changes to cafeteria plan elections.... [6] ACA's out-of-pocket maximum.... [7] Same-sex marriages and domestic partnerships.... [8] Mental health parity.... [9] Wellness.... [10] Fixed-indemnity and supplemental health insurance." (Mercer)

"Beginning with calendar year 2016 returns to be filed in 2017, the automatically extended due date for the calendar-year return could be as late as November 15, 2017.... The automatic extensions that are linked to a sponsor's income tax filing deadline should likewise be subject to the extended limitation, and the filing deadline applicable to [...]

The annual Creditable Coverage determination and disclosure deadline is Oct. 15 for your clients offering a prescription drug plan to Medicare-eligible individuals. This information is essential to an individual's decision whether to enroll in a Medicare Part D prescription drug plan. Insurance carriers are often helpful in determining whether an Rx plan is creditable, but [...]