Due to COVID-19 and the current state of economic uncertainty, employers may be facing limited budgets. Seeking new ways to structure employee benefit plans could put your organization in a better financial position heading into the new year. To reduce healthcare spending, employers can consider several benefit design strategies opposed …
On July 8, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld two regulations expanding exemptions from the contraceptive coverage mandate under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Under the regulations, plan sponsors that object to providing contraceptive coverage based on sincerely held religious beliefs or moral convictions will not be penalized for failing …
Benefit changes surrounding New Jersey Temporary Disability Insurance (TDI) and Family Leave Insurance (FLI), as well as California Paid Family Leave (PFL), will go into effect July 1, 2020. Outlined below are updates that may impact your employee population. New Jersey Benefit Changes The benefit level is increasing for both …
As the scope of the coronavirus pandemic continues to expand, Aetna continues to show its commitment to help support and protect its members. The carrier is mindful of the challenges their small business customers and employees have had to face, which has led to the initiative to again extend and …
To assist with the issues presented by the Novel Coronavirus outbreak, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released Notice 2020-29, which provides flexibility for mid-year election changes under a Section 125 cafeteria plan during 2020. This flexibility has been designed to encourage employers, who sponsor health flexible spending accounts (FSAs) and …
Over the last several months, the rise of COVID-19 has presented an excessive amount of challenges to individuals, businesses, institutions and across national and global healthcare systems. In efforts to restore imbalances in the healthcare industry, UnitedHealth Group, along with many other insurance carriers, have rose to the occasion. UnitedHealth …
Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, employees may be more likely to have unused funds in their health flexible spending accounts (FSAs) or dependent care assistance program (DCAP) accounts. Health FSAs and DCAPs are accounts individuals can make pre-tax contributions to, that are then used to pay for certain out-of-pocket …
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, schools and day care facilities have been forced to close. With the lack of availability and, in some cases, need for childcare, employees are being encouraged to re-evaluate their Dependent Care Assistance Program (DCAP) contributions and consider alternate uses for these funds. Under ‘normal’ circumstances, …
Across the nation, we continue to witness the high demand and stress the COVID-19 pandemic is placing on our healthcare system. While challenges and uncertainty continue to present themselves, costs increase. The healthcare marketplace’s combined costs for testing, treating, and caring for patients is estimated to rise from $56 billion …
In light of the current COVID-19 pandemic, employees have the opportunity to take advantage of the loosened requirements regarding how they can spend their health savings account (HSA) dollars. Employees can now utilize their HSA dollars to pay for telehealth services, over-the-counter (OTC) medications, feminine hygiene products and more. Many …
Updated Model COBRA Notices & FAQs On May 1, 2020 the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued new model notices for group health plan administrators to use to comply with COBRA notification requirements. Plan administrators are not required to use the updated model notices, however, the DOL considers their use …
During this unprecedented time, employers are looking for ways to provide a sense of relief to their employees. We’ve outlined items employers can share with workers to assist them in light of the COVID-19 crisis. Relief due to Legislation & Carrier Action Updates to new legislation continue to be released …
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act was signed into law to address the current COVID-19 pandemic. The Act provides $2.2 trillion of economic relief for Americans, businesses and the healthcare industry. The relief package also provides federal funding to expand the availability of unemployment insurance (UI) benefits, …
It’s essential for patients that are experiencing serious illness, including symptoms of COVID-19, to have access to necessary treatment and prescription medication. In efforts to protect those with chronic conditions from medication shortages, CVS Caremark recently set new guidelines to limit the purchase of essential medications. Medications to help ease …
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires applicable large employers (ALEs) to offer affordable, minimum value health coverage to their full-time employees or possibly pay a penalty. The evolving coronavirus crisis has raised questions on how employers should determine what a full-time employee is during periods of layoff, furlough, and COVID-19 …
