Opportunity lost, or ill-conceived initiative? Association health plans and the states’ trump card
The new association health plan rules grant permission for something many associations, franchisors, chambers of commerce and other clients would love to do. But the DOL’s rules reserve the last word for someone else. In this case, the foil is played by the states.
Texas plays whack-a-mole with municipal paid leave laws
Texas has entered the paid leave fray, but employers haven’t surrendered to the trend.
IRS Announces 2013 Benefit Plan Limits
Benefit plan limits from the IRS have been announced, and they are yours for the reading in this recent Compliance Alert from the Lockton Benefit Group Compliance Services Department. As noted in the Alert, there are many sections in the Tax Code that limit the amount...
Skirmishing Continues in the Battle Over Contraception Benefits
The battle over the Obama Administration’s directive that non-grandfathered (under federal health reform) health plans supply cost-free contraception benefits for female enrollees continues to heat up. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. filed suit last week in a federal court,...
States Continue Trend of Trolling for Cash from Group Plan Sponsors…with a Boost from the Courts
Last year, Michigan followed the lead of several other states (e.g., New York, Massachusetts, and Vermont) and levied a one percent tax on the value of all claims paid by every insurance carrier and third party administrator for medical care rendered in Michigan to a...
San Francisco’s Health Care Spending Requirement Contribution on the Rise for 2013
San Francisco announced last week the Health Care Spending Ordinance (HCSO) contribution rate for 2013. The HCSO requires the majority of employers doing business in San Francisco to contribute to the cost of healthcare for their employees who work in San Francisco....
Federal Appellate Court: Employer’s Surcharge on Employees Who Decline a Biometric Screen is Not an ADA Violation
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit (Alabama, Florida, and Georgia) has upheld a lower court ruling that an employer wellness program, which imposed a $20 per paycheck surcharge on health insurance premiums for employees declining to submit to a health...
New Guidance on Exemptions from Contraceptive Coverage Requirements
On August 15, 2012, the Department of Health and Human Services issued new guidance on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act's (PPACA’s) requirement that non-grandfathered group health plans must offer contraceptive coverage without cost-sharing. The...
DOL Self-Compliance Checklist for HIPAA and Other Health Care Laws
The DOL has posted on its website a 38-page self-compliance checklist that covers several of the major laws that apply to employer group health plans. The Self-Compliance Tool is located at http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/pdf/CAGAppA.pdf The checklist includes questions on...
Obesity Screening and Counseling for Adults Added to Preventive Services List for Non-Grandfathered Plans
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force has recommended health plans screen adults age 18 and older for obesity and offer “intensive, multicomponent behavioral interventions” for people with a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or greater. In 2005, the Task Force made a...
Much to do and not a lotta time…
Well, after digesting the entire Supreme Court decision, Lockton expert Ed Fensholt, JD summed it up this way in his latest Health Reform Advisory Alert: Largely, not much has changed. Still much to do, and not much time to do it. He also had these thoughts to share,...
Mandate Upheld: It was a Razor-Close Decision
You have seen the headlines, and you may have even expected the result, but did you expect the reasoning? Today the Supreme Court concluded that the individual mandate cannot be justified under the Constitution's Commerce Clause, but that the individual mandate...
Fensholt testifies to House subcommittee: “Health reform law has both challenges and strengths”
In Washington, when they want to get a read on what employers are thinking about health reform, they call employers...AND they call Lockton Benefit Group experts. Multiple times since the health reform law passed in 2010, Lockton executives have testified, and late in...
Student Health Plans and Health Care Reform
HHS recently issued a final regulation on student health care coverage offered by colleges and universities. The regulation defines "student health insurance coverage" as a type of individual health insurance coverage provided by an institution of higher education...