The moment of truth is soon approaching. After years of delays, the reporting requirements mandated by the Affordable Care Act (ACA) for large companies went into effect in 2015, and deadlines loom early next year for filing 1095 and 1094 forms. As a result, companies preparing to process these forms …
Let Us Do the Heavy Lifting
One of the most challenging parts of our job is quantifying the benefits of the customer service offering clients can expect from the Creative Benefits’ Employee Service Representative (ESR) team! How does one make this benefit tangible to a prospective client? Sometimes our clients do our job for us! …
Small Group Expansion Repealed
President Obama has just signed a bill that passed with strong bipartisan support that repeals a provision of the Affordable Care Act. The bill repeals a measure that would require employers with 51-100 employees to be designated as small employers in 2016. Economists and business and trade associations raised concerns …
Trust Our ESR Team to Help
Maybe it’s time to change your HR strategy… we can help! At Creative Benefits, our Employee Service Representative (ESR) Team is available Monday – Friday with extended business hours! There is NO automated phone system here… each call gets answered by a live team member ready and willing to help. …
Could Biosimilars Slow Rising Pharmaceutical Costs?
As companies continue to struggle with rising healthcare premiums, more and more attention is being paid to what is driving the increases. Even companies with low or diminishing medical claims are seeing their rates climb, leaving the frustrating question of Why? The conclusion being reached by many is rising pharmaceutical …
How to Minimize FMLA Abuse: ‘Trust, but Verify’
Approving and administering FMLA leaves is tricky business. On one hand, you want to do right by employees by allowing them the time they need (and are legally allowed) to recover from an illness or injury, and to help a family member do the same. On the other hand, you …
Rules Change on Overtime and Contract Work: Could They Affect Your Business?
Are a large number of American workers not being compensated as they should be? That certainly seems to be the viewpoint of the U.S. Department of Labor, which recently announced that it was seeking to redefine the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Proposals released by the DOL would increase the …
How Will Mergers in the Health Insurance Industry Affect Employers and Employees?
Another month, another industry-shaking merger of major insurance providers. Assuming it clears antitrust hurdles, last month’s $48 billion Anthem/Cigna merger brings the number of major national health insurance companies down to just three, after Aetna purchased Humana for $37 billion less than a month earlier. UnitedHealth Group rounds out the …
Being a Savvy Telemedicine Consumer, Living Well and Monthly Medicine
Featured in this newsletter is information about being a savvy consumer (telemedicine), living well and monthly medicine. Please share this with friends and family. Creative Benefits, Inc. brings you the second edition of the new and improved Wellness Newsletter, the Summer 2015 Employee Newsletter. It continues to include wellness information …
What Can a Small Employer Do in the Face of Rising Health Insurance Costs?
Much has been written about Obamacare’s effect on large businesses. The employer mandate has changed the game completely, and the question for larger companies has been “How can we afford all these new expenses?” But what about the little guys? Although companies with fewer than 50 employees (and for 2015, …
What Is a Level-Funded Health Plan and Could It Save My Company Money?
By: Carolyn McLaughlin-Smith It’s been a rough couple of years for employers, at least when it comes to healthcare. Regardless of anyone’s opinion of the long-term implications of the Affordable Care Act, all can agree that its implementation has been confusing for many employers and a challenge for HR professionals …
Addressing the Needs of Our Clients: IRC Sections 6055 & 6056 Reporting Strategies
On Tuesday, June 16th, CEOs, CFOs and HR professionals filled the grand ballroom at Aronimink Golf Club seeking answers and guidance from the Creative Benefits Inc. Health Care Advisory Panel. Creative Benefits hosted it’s second workshop for to review the new requirements under Sections 6055 & 6056 of the Internal Revenue …
What Could a Supreme Court Ruling on King v. Burwell Mean for Employers?
An expected late-June ruling of the U.S. Supreme Court on the closely watched King v. Burwell case is swiftly approaching, and the pundits are buzzing. Will the Roberts Court rule in favor of the plaintiffs and strike a blow to the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare), or will the Obama …
Join Us June 16th for an Informational Seminar on 6055 & 6056 Reporting Requirements for Employers
On Tuesday, June 2nd, Creative Benefits Inc. (CBI) hosted a reporting workshop for clients and colleagues to review the new requirements under Sections 6055 & 6056 of the Internal Revenue Code. “It is imperative that Employers understand and begin to prepare for the Employer Shared Responsibility Provision,” says Ann Duke, …
Are Your Company’s FMLA Policies Putting It at Risk?
Is there anything more frustrating than knowing what needs to be done, but forgetting to do it? There’s standing in line for an hour at the DMV, and then realizing you forgot your identification. Then there’s waiting on hold with the help desk, before realizing you don’t have your ticket …