To The Point Podcast

Employer sponsored wellness plans are a great way to help instill a culture of health and wellbeing in the workplace. However, a bona fide wellness program is subject to regulations under HIPAA, the ACA, the ADA and GINA, and so offering a program requires some forethought and planning to remain compliant. Listen in to learn more about wellness plan regulations and how they apply to your program.

A Section 125 cafeteria plan allows employers to extend an opportunity to employees to purchase certain benefits on a pre-tax basis. Section 125 plan rules are governed by the IRS and pre-tax benefit elections are irrevocable except for reasons permitted under the IRS Code. Listen in to this podcast to learn about permitted election changes and hear a few real life scenarios employers have asked our L&P team.

The Senate’s proposed health bill, known as the Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA), struggles to gain enough support to pass. Tune in to learn some of the key provisions of the bill and thoughts on its future.

Telemedicine programs are increasing in popularity, and for good reason. They offer a way to reduce employee stress associated with long doctor wait times and time out of the office, increase employer productivity for similar reasons, and can positively impact medical claim experience by keeping claims separated from the major medical plan. However, there are a couple key pitfalls employers should be sure to avoid when implementing these plans. Listen in to learn what they are and what solutions we suggest.

Each year the IRS releases an updated index of the contribution percentages for the purposes of determining affordability of an employer’s plan under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). For the first time since these affordability percentages were introduced, we are seeing a decrease in the amount an employer can charge employees for health coverage. Some employers may need to reduce their employee contributions for 2018 to meet the adjusted percentage. Listen in to learn what the percentage amount has been proposed to be for plan years beginning in 2018.

PCORI Fees, also known as the Patient-Centered Research Outcome Institute fees, are due July 31, 2017. While carriers will pay these fees directly for fully insured plans because they are built into the premium, self-funded medical plans, HRAs that integrate with a fully insured medical plan, and self-funded minimum essential coverage (MEC) plans must pay them directly to the IRS via Form 720. Listen in learn more about these fees and how to calculate and pay them.

On May 4,2017, by a vote of 217 to 213 (with 20 Republicans voting against the bill), the U.S. House of Representatives passed an amended version of the American Health Care Act (AHCA), which repeals and replaces significant portions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Tune in to this podcast to learn more about the amendments that made enough difference to allow the bill to pass, its impact on employers, and its future in the Senate and beyond.

The Family Medical Leave Act is a federal law that applies to all employers with 50 or more employees in a 75 miles radius. Tune in to learn the qualification criteria for employees to take this leave, how premium payments should be handled, and what to do if the employee can't or doesn't return at the end of leave.

Forgot to file a line of coverage on your last 5500 or just realized that 5500s have never been filed for your company’s health and welfare plans? Steep penalties will apply if caught by the DOL. Listen in to learn about how the Delinquent Filer Voluntary Compliance Program (DFVCP) can seriously limit your penalty liability by filing as soon as you learn of the offense.

Employers of all sizes offering health and welfare plans to employees are subject to ERISA laws with few exceptions. One of these laws requires a plan document and summary plan description per line of coverage (medical, dental, vision, life, etc.). A wrap plan document is an attorney created document that wraps around all of an employer’s health and welfare plans to effectively create one ERISA plan. An employer’s carrier provided documents like the booklet, contract or evidence of coverage often do not include all items required under ERISA to qualify as a true summary plan description, so the creation of a wrap plan document can help ensure compliance with ERISA as well as streamline an employer’s 5500 reporting. Listen in to learn more.