Bold Predictions About the Future of the Benefits Business (Opinion)

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 [...]

By |2017-08-12T12:36:22-04:00December 15th, 2015|2015 News, News|

ACA’s Automatic Enrollment Provision Repealed

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 [...]

By |2017-08-12T12:40:39-04:00December 10th, 2015|2015 News, News|

ERISA Procedures for Disability Claims to Get an ACA Makeover

"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 [...]

By |2017-08-12T12:43:35-04:00December 2nd, 2015|2015 News, News|

Aetna and Anthem Defend Mergers with Humana and CIGNA Claiming Markets Will Remain Competitive

"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 [...]

By |2017-08-12T12:48:33-04:00November 15th, 2015|2015 News, News|

Post-2018 HSA Contribution Strategies

"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 [...]

By |2017-08-12T12:53:13-04:00November 5th, 2015|2015 News, News|

2016 Top 10 Compliance-Related Issues for Employers

[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)

By |2017-08-12T19:02:50-04:00October 15th, 2015|2015 News, News|

Form 5500 Deadline Extensions Begin Next Year

"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 [...]

By |2017-08-12T19:05:58-04:00October 10th, 2015|2015 News, News|

Part D Medicare Creditable Coverage Notice Due Oct. 15

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 [...]

By |2017-08-12T19:09:00-04:00October 2nd, 2015|2015 News, News|
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