San Francisco ups HCSO rates, clarifies (sort of) coverage of teleworkers
San Francisco has announced an increase in required health care expenditures for 2022 under its Health Care Security Ordinance (HCSO). San Francisco also amended the ordinance to address its applicability to employees who typically work in the city but, due to public...
PCORI deadline just passed – “What happens if I messed up?”
We all celebrated the end of the PCORI fee [1] only to have it sneak back in under the cover of the elimination of the Cadillac tax (and some other fees on health plans) in 2019. The PCORI fee filing and payment deadline recently passed, but if you missed it or made a...
The IRS wants to know: Has your company filed Form 1095-C?
The IRS has begun enforcing the filing of Form 1095-C. Learn what your options are if you receive an IRS Letter 5699 notifying your company of noncompliance.
HSA contribution rules: Counter-intuitive coordination with Medicare
Many employees are unaware that Medicare coverage of the employee’s spouse does not necessarily have any effect on the employee’s right to make HSA contributions.
IRS proposes to expand mandatory electronic filing of employer tax forms
The IRS has proposed new rules to increase the number of employers required to file tax information electronically. The new rules would apply to Forms W-2, 1099, the Affordable Care Act (ACA)-related 1095-C and other information returns.
IRS increases ACA employer mandate affordability threshold for 2019
The IRS has announced a three-tenths of 1 percent increase in the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) employer mandate affordability threshold for 2019.
Feds announce out-of-pocket limits for 2019
The US Department of Health and Human Services has announced the inflation-adjusted out-of-pocket limits that will apply to non-grandfathered plans for plan years beginning in 2019.
When does the term “TPA” not refer to an employer’s medical plan? When Massachusetts sends employers letters explaining its newest tax assessment
Massachusetts has started mailing employer letters explaining the operation of a new tax assessment that will apply beginning on April 30. Unfortunately, the letter is confusing, so Lockton Compliance Services explains.
IRS interprets tax reform deduction rule for transportation benefits paid by employee salary reductions
The tax reform package signed into law late last year included a provision eliminating the ability of employers to deduct payments made for qualified transportation benefits like employee parking and mass transit passes.
What’s new in benefits administration?
Check out new and notable platform updates in the benefits administration industry. Lockton Benefit Group HR Technology director Brad Mandacina shares insights on the future of mobile platforms and artificial intelligence.
Déjà vu: Red states sue Trump administration to kill Obamacare
Last year’s tax reform law reduced the penalty tax for not having health coverage to $0. In response, attorneys general and governors from 20 states sued the Trump administration, arguing the lack of an individual mandate makes the entire ACA unconstitutional.
The San Francisco Healthcare Security Ordinance: four key changes for 2018
Employers with at least 20 persons performing work for compensation (or at least 50 persons, in the case of a nonprofit organization) and that have at least one employee who performs work in San Francisco are subject to the San Francisco Health Care Security Ordinance...
The Department of Labor announces 2018 increased penalty amounts
The Department of Labor (DOL) recently finalized regulations containing civil penalty inflation adjustments for 2018.
EEOC Wellness Out the Window – Now What?
In late December, federal courts handed down the decision to vacate the imposed 2016 worksite wellness incentive regulations, effective Jan. 1, 2019, due to lack of action by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). These headlines may startle and frustrate...