What do you think of when you hear the words “health savings account or HSA” as part of an employee benefits package? If you’re like most people, you mistakenly lump it in with the flexible spending accounts (or FSAs) offered by employers. But while FSAs have annual “use it or lose it” strictures and don’t carry over to the next year, HSAs offer tax benefits and long-term, flexible utility that can pack a powerful one-two punch. This combination can help pay for out-of-pocket health care expenses, and grow an individual’s retirement nest egg.
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Topics:
health insurance,
health care,
health savings account,
HSA
On May 24, 2019, the Department of Health and Human Services' Office for Civil Rights (OCR) released a proposed rule to revise its regulations under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act's Section 1557. OCR also released a fact sheet and press release.
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Topics:
health insurance,
Department of Health and Human Services,
Affordable Care Act,
Office for Civil Rights
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) published its final rule and fact sheet for benefit payment and parameters for 2020. Although the final rule primarily affects the individual market and the Exchanges, the final rule addresses the following topics that may impact employer-sponsored group health plans:
- The 2020 maximum annual limitation on cost sharing is $8,150 for self-only coverage and $16,300 for other-than-self-only coverage.
- For fully-insured plans, any indication of a reduction in the generosity of a benefit for individuals that is not based on clinically indicated, reasonable medical management practices is potentially discriminatory.
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Topics:
health insurance,
Medicaid,
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services,
Medicare coverage
On August 3, 2018, the Internal Revenue Service, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and the Department of Labor (collectively, the Departments) published a final rule that amends the definition of short-term, limited-duration insurance. HHS also released a fact sheet on the final rule.
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Topics:
health insurance,
Department of Labor,
Department of Health and Human Services,
Internal Revenue Service
On August 1, 2018, the Internal Revenue Service, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and the Department of Labor (collectively, the Departments) released a final rule that amends the definition of short-term, limited-duration insurance. HHS also released a fact sheet on the final rule.
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Topics:
health insurance,
Department of Health and Human Services,
short-term insurance
Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), individuals are required to have health insurance while applicable large employers (ALEs) are required to offer health benefits to their full-time employees. In order for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to verify that (1) individuals have the required minimum essential coverage, (2) individuals who request premium tax credits are entitled to them, and (3) ALEs are meeting their shared responsibility (play or pay) obligations, employers with 50 or more full-time or full-time equivalent employees and insurers will be required to report on the health coverage they offer. Final instructions for the 1094-B and 1095-B and the 1094-C and 1095-C forms were released in September 2016, as were the final forms for 1094-B, 1095-B, 1094-C, and 1095-C. The reporting requirements are in Sections 6055 and 6056 of the ACA.
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Topics:
health insurance,
ACA,
PPACA reporting,
Danielle Capilla,
applicable large employers,
ACA reporting,
IRS Form 6055 and 6056
With the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), we saw a number of hospitals and provider groups being bought and merged with larger provider groups. This was done for two reasons. One, in part to make sure that they were able to establish more buying power, or bargaining chips to bring to the contract negotiating table. Two, with less competition, they have more control over how much they can charge for services.
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Topics:
health insurance,
PPACA Affordable Care Act,
Elizabeth Kay,
health membership,
AEIS Advisors
By Dave Woodruff
The A.I. Group, Inc.
Most of us have heard of “concierge medicine” and it’s gaining popularity, especially among executives. As more people enroll, more questions are popping up that we haven’t heard before. One of the most frequent questions we’ve heard is, “Can I fund the cost of the concierge with my health savings account (HSA) or flexible spending account (FSA)?”
The answer is an absolute “maybe!”
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Topics:
health care costs,
health insurance,
UBA Partner Firm,
employee benefits,
health care,
FSA,
concierge medicine,
flexible spending account,
health savings account,
HSA
“Complaining is not a strategy.”-- Jeff Bezos, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Amazon.com
It’s no secret that the insurance benefits industry is rapidly changing, probably at the fastest rate in its history. United Benefit Advisor’s Chief Executive Officer, Thom Mangan, has been outspoken about the fact that advisors who don’t keep up with the changing benefits industry will quickly get left behind. Mangan is often recognized for his drive to stay one step ahead of the game and was recently honored with the CEO Leadership Award from the Institute of HealthCare Consumerism (IHCC) as a result of his leadership in this area. In this brief interview with the IHCC, he shares his thoughts on the future.
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Topics:
health care costs,
health insurance,
ACA,
UBA,
employee benefits,
health care reform,
health care,
Thomas Mangan
Like the classic child question, "Why?" and the time-tested parent response, "Because!" there are some things in benefits that we as HR professionals just need to know even if they are not that remarkable. It's just good for us. Like eating vegetables. This is true for the annual cost of living adjustments. Many employee benefit limits are automatically adjusted each year for inflation (this is often referred to as an "indexed" limit). The Internal Revenue Service and the Social Security Administration have released the indexed figures for 2014. Because inflation is relatively low and some amounts are adjusted only if the increase meets a minimum, many amounts are unchanged for 2014. Limits of particular interest include the following.
For health and Section 125 plans:
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Topics:
health care costs,
health insurance,
employee benefits,
health care,
employee benefit limits,
health plans
