“For every cloud, a silver lining.” San Francisco postpones HCSO reporting deadline
Amidst the pall of the pandemic, we celebrate little rays of sunshine. Here’s one: San Francisco has postponed its Health Care Security Ordinance (HCSO) annual reporting obligation for the 2020 calendar year from the end of this month to at least Oct. 31, 2021....
“You just missed the exit” (Where’s the guidance on ending the outbreak period?)
You’re driving along, your partner’s in the passenger seat playing navigator. You drive smoothly past an exit only to have said partner exclaim, “Hey! Where are you going! You missed our exit!” Your reply: “Well you’re in charge of directions! Give me a little heads...
The Jan Brady Generation
It is no secret that both Baby Boomers and Millennials are constantly in the limelight, but what about the Gen Xers; you know, the generation born between 1965 and 1983 (ish)? Have we forgotten the significant impact they have had on the business world and as...
The Decline of the FUD Factor
FUD: fear, uncertainty, doubt. FUD has steadily played a role in many employers’ uptake of HR technology over the years. This makes sense as new developments in technology usually come with added cost, buyer’s remorse or even concern for whether or not the new...
Excepted Benefits That Don’t Cause ACA Concerns Part II
Part II: The ACA Effect The Affordable Care Act has prompted employers to provide more tailored health coverage options to their workforce. Some employers have turned to offering medical benefits that are intended to qualify as “excepted benefits.” An excepted benefit...
Looking Ahead: CMS Announces 2018 Annual ACA Cost-Sharing Limits
While all eyes in the group health insurance world are focused on Capitol Hill and the specter of an Affordable Care Act repeal in 2017, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is already looking ahead to 2018. HHS just announced the 2018 cost-sharing limits...
The Modern Humanist: Artificial Intelligence
As HR tech geeks, we tend to become impatient with the old and anxious for shiny new technology. Therefore, it is only natural for us to want to discuss the trends forming as we change our calendars from December 2016 to January 2017. One development that has piqued...
Excepted Benefits: Medical Benefits That Don’t Cause ACA Concerns
Part I – Traditional Excepted Benefits The Affordable Care Act (ACA) has prompted employers to provide more tailored health coverage options to their workforce. Some employers have turned to offering medical benefits that are intended to qualify as “excepted...
What is a Risk Management Information System, and Why Would You Care?
As a whole, it isn’t surprising to see a Lockton document discussing Risk Management Information Systems (RMIS – when pronounced it rhymes with “grimace”), but it may be surprising to hear about it from the HR Technology & Outsourcing team in Lockton Benefit...
DOL Finalizes Rules on Employer Retaliation Under ACA
The US Department of Labor (DOL) has issued final regulations that prohibit employers from retaliating against employees who receive a federal subsidy when they purchase individual coverage in an online health insurance exchange, or “marketplace.” Under the Affordable...
Demographic Data Dive
We promise we are not going to get deep in the compliance weeds; we have a special practice for that, should you be interested. However, we do want to discuss the changes announced by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), which go into effect March of...
An Ode to the Obvious: The Affordable Care Act’s Sputtering Health Insurance Exchanges
It could not have been more obvious. When we were on Capitol Hill in 2009 and 2010 talking to members of Congress about the impending Affordable Care Act, we told anyone willing to listen, “If you’re going to federally subsidize individual insurance coverage in new...
AARP Sues EEOC to Block New ADA Wellness Regs: What’s an Employer to Do?
Just when you thought the legal environment surrounding employer wellness programs couldn’t get more complicated, we have the news that the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) has sued the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to block new...
ERISA Violations Will Cost You More Than Ever: DOL Substantially Increases Civil Penalty Amounts
Penalties just got steeper, friends. This past summer, the US Department of Labor (DOL) announced substantial increases in civil penalty amounts for certain ERISA violations in accordance with the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 2015 (the Act). The...