Health Care Reform Update: IRS Proposes Regulations on Employer Penalty
The Internal Revenue Service has released proposed regulations on the health care reform employer “shared responsibility” penalty provision. This is the penalty on “large” employers (those with at least 50 full-time or full-time equivalent employees) that do not provide affordable minimum essential coverage for full-time employees and their dependents and have at least one full-time […]
Compliance Alert! DOL Begins Auditing Group Health Plans for PPACA, GINA and Wellness Program Compliance
Employers that have had their group health plans audited by the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA, the arm of the U.S. Department of Labor that enforces Title I of ERISA) are aware of the broad nature of the document requests and compliance reviews carried out under these audits. The EBSA has updated its audit protocols […]
Individual Mandate Tax – What is the Cost for Non-Compliance?
Last June the Supreme Court ruled that PPACA, including the individual mandate, is constitutional. Under the law, individuals are required to purchase health care insurance and if they do not, the penalty will be a tax. In order to avoid this tax, a person must have “minimum essential” coverage. This coverage can be obtained through […]
HHS ISSUES PROPOSED RULES ON ‘BENEFIT AND PAYMENT PARAMETERS,’ MULTI-STATE PLAN PROGRAM
The following is a summary of proposed regulations. Some or all of the provisions may change when final rules are issued. On Dec. 5 and 7, 2012, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued two more sets of proposed rules that provide added details on how the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act […]
Health Care Reform Lunch N’Learns a Huge Success! More to come…
In light of the outcome of the November Presidential election, Innovative hosted three Lunch N’ Learn events over the last few weeks at Fleming’s Steak House in Marlton, DelFrisco’s Steak House in Philadelphia and Ruth’s Chris Steak House in Parsippany. We also joined Ultimate Software at a fourth event at the Capitol Grille in Manhattan. […]
HIGHLIGHTS OF PROPOSED RULES ON HEALTH INSURANCE MARKET RULES
On Nov. 20, 2012, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued proposed rules that address a number of health insurance market reforms. The rule is still in the “proposed” stage, which means that there may — and likely will — be changes when the final rule is issued. The proposed rule confirms that […]
HIGHLIGHTS OF PROPOSED RULES ON WELLNESS PROGRAMS
On Nov. 20, 2012, the Department of Health and Human Services, the IRS and the Department of Labor jointly issued a proposed rule that addresses how wellness programs may operate under PPACA beginning in 2014. The proposed rule would largely carry forward the rules that have been in effect for wellness programs since 2006. (The […]
HIGHLIGHTS OF PROPOSED RULES ON ESSENTIAL HEALTH BENEFITS AND ACTUARIAL VALUE
On Nov. 20, 2012, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a proposed rule that addresses a number of questions surrounding essential health benefits and determining actuarial and minimum value. This rule is still in the “proposed” stage, which means that there may — and likely will — be changes when the final […]
Healthy Employees Lead to Wealthy Employees
We all know that employer-sponsored wellness programs are effective at extending quality of life by maintaining good health and reducing health risks that can worsen over time. Companies also obtain financials savings from implementing wellness programs. For instance, for every dollar spent on wellness, medical costs are reduced by $3.27 and absenteeism costs are reduced […]
Health Plan Design Drives Regional Costs
United Benefit Advisors (UBA), one of the nation’s largest employee benefit advisory organizations, announces more key findings from its 2012 Health Plan Survey. As health care costs continue to increase and recruitment and retention of quality employees becomes more competitive, accurate and detailed benefits benchmarking data is imperative for employee benefits design. Among the trends […]
