COVID-19 VACCINE – Can Employers Make this a Requirement for their Workforce?
Pfizer recently announced that its experimental COVID-19 vaccine appears to be more than 90% effective. While digesting this positive news, many employers have wondered if they may require employees to vaccinate once doses are accessible to the general public. The short answer is yes, companies probably will be able to ask its workforce to get…
Guide to Medical Loss Ratio (MLR) Rebates
What are Medical Loss Ratio (MLR) Rebates? The Affordable Care Act requires health insurance carriers to spend at least 80-85 percent of premium dollars on medical care and healthcare quality improvement. If they don’t meet this medical loss ratio (MLR) obligation, they must give affected customers a rebate. Rebates must be distributed by the carriers…
Trump Administration Proposes New Rule Concerning Health Care Sharing Ministries and Direct Primary Care
Last week, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued a proposed regulation to expand the definition of qualified medical expenses. The expansion would allow employers to reimburse employees for direct primary care arrangement fees and health care sharing ministry shares. It would also allow reimbursement for premiums for other types of insurance contracts that cover medical care and…
Overview of New Federal Regulatory Guidance That Impacts Group Health Plans
Over the past month, the federal government issued multiple pieces of regulatory guidance setting limits, fees, and other requirements for group health plans in the year ahead. Here’s a break-down of all of the new requirements. 2020 PCORI Fee Payments for Group Health Plans The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) fee was supposed to expire in 2020,…
CARES Act Provision Gives More Flexibility to FSA and HSA Funds
Thanks to provisions in the CARES Act — a federal law passed in March 2020 to help give people relief in the wake of the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic — your FSA and HSA dollars are now a little bit easier to spend. The new rules essentially mean you no longer need a doctor’s prescription to use your…
Agencies Extend Employee Benefit Plan Deadlines Providing Relief from COVID-19
The Employee Benefits Security Administration teamed up with the IRS to extend employee benefit plan deadlines to provide relief and mitigate compliance issues for benefit plan sponsors, participants and beneficiaries impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Extended Employee Benefit Plan Deadline Guidance in Three Documents: A Joint Notice by EBSA and the IRS that extends time frames affecting…
AmeriHealth Provides Instructions for Deferred Payment Plan for Fully Insured Small Group and Large Group Customers
While AmeriHealth encourages all customers who are able to pay their premiums on time to continue to do so, they understand the toll the COVID‑19 crisis is taking on many businesses. AmeriHealth wants to help mutual customers in need with the opportunity to take advantage of a AmeriHealth Deferred Payment Program for fully insured small…
CARES ACT STIMULUS BILL BECOMES LAW
On March 27, 2020, President Trump signed H.R. 748, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act into law. It is the third, and by far the most extensive, measure enacted so far to provide relief and aid related to the COVID-19 pandemic. In includes economic and health coverage protection provisions for individuals, employers, and key…
AFFORDABILITY PERCENTAGE
The IRS has lowered the affordability percentage from 9.86% to 9.78%. What does this mean for you? It could mean you, an applicable large employer, are obligated to pay a higher contribution to employee health-care. There are substantial penalties if an employer neglects to put these changes into place this upcoming year. You have three…
THE FIRST $50,000 OF LIFE INSURANCE
Many companies provide employer paid group-term life insurance policies when employees sign on to become full-time. What these employers may not realize is that there is a limit to the benefit amount they can provide without tax implications. The IRS states that the first $50,000 of employer paid life insurance is tax-free. However, any employer paid benefit over $50,000 is considered…
OPEN ENROLLMENT
October 15th marks the first day of Medicare Open Enrollment. Employees ages 65 and older have the option to switch from their employer provided comprehensive medical package to a government provided Medicare plan. Making this change has substantial potential cost savings. To put this into perspective, let’s look at an example of a 64 year…
HEALTHCARE MOVES FORWARD
A month ago, I wrote an article outlining President Trump’s 7 Point Healthcare Plan. This month, the GOP released their healthcare plan, in which we do not see much mention of Trump’s 7 points. The GOP is using a complex method called budget reconciliation to repeal and replace Obamacare. In short, this method affords a voting advantage to…