A good basketball team is at its best when its top players are on the floor. Similarly, a company is the most productive, efficient and innovative when its best employees are in the right positions, doing great work. Unfortunately, it’s not uncommon for good employees to battle personal problems, such as substance dependence, financial and…
The Medicare Modernization Act requires employers that provide prescription drug coverage to Medicare-eligible individuals to complete the Online Disclosure Form to the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to report whether such coverage is creditable prescription drug coverage (“creditable coverage”). Creditable coverage is coverage that is expected to pay, on average, as much…
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has extended the effective dates of its model Employer CHIP Notice, General Notice of COBRA Rights, and COBRA Election Notice through December 31, 2019. Previously, these model notices expired on December 31, 2016. No other changes have been made to these notices. For the latest guidance regarding these notices,…
President Trump has signed an executive order calling upon federal administrative agencies to minimize the economic burden of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), pending repeal of the law. Until further guidance is issued or legislation is signed, however, all ACA requirements remain in effect, including penalties for noncompliance. In addition to making clear that the…
President Trump has signed an executive order calling upon federal administrative agencies to minimize the economic burden of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), pending repeal of the law. Until further guidance is issued or legislation is signed, however, all ACA requirements remain in effect, including penalties for noncompliance. In addition to making it clear that…
The goal of the Anthem National Drug List is to provide access to drugs and therapies with clinical evidence to improve the health of our members, while keeping health care affordable. Our drug lists include brand-name and generic prescription medications that have been reviewed through our Pharmacy and Therapeutics (P&T) process. Through the P&T process,…
A new law allows certain small employers–those with fewer than 50 full-time equivalent employees who do not offer a group health plan–to offer new “qualified small employer health reimbursement arrangements” to reimburse employees for qualified medical expenses, including individual health insurance premiums, for years after December 31, 2016. The law also includes a notice requirement…
In July 2016, the IRS released a proposed rule addressing how opt-out arrangements — arrangements whereby an employer offers its employees a cash payment in exchange for declining coverage under an employer-sponsored plan– are to be taken into account for purposes of determining whether the coverage is affordable under certain provisions of the Affordable Care…
When looking to manage benefits costs, employers have many ideas to consider. One in particular is whether and how to offer health care insurance to their employees’ spouses. The Affordable Care Act doesn’t require spousal coverage. It only requires coverage for dependent children. But many employees may frown on seeing spousal coverage suddenly become expensive…
Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) were created as a tax-favored framework to provide health care benefits mainly for small to midsize businesses and the self-employed. So, assuming your company falls into one of these categories, have you considered the strategy of using these accounts with a high-deductible health plan (HDHP)? Tax benefits The tax benefits of…
