Retiree Health Actuary
The Segal Group
in CA

?See 108 Jobs

?Post a Job

Provider Consolidation Trends & Implications, What Employers Need to Know
RECORDED
Catalyst for Payment Reform [CPR]

Future Evolution of High Deductible Health Plans and Consumer Incentives in Benefit Design
RECORDED
Catalyst for Payment Reform [CPR]

?See 134 Upcoming Webcasts and Conferences

?See 1373 Recorded Webcasts

New Topics on the BenefitsLink Message Boards

New Comments and Topics

All Topics , Grouped by Forum

Tax Reform Offers New Incentive for Employers Providing Paid FMLA Leave
"Section 13403 of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act ... adds a new section to the Internal Revenue Code (section 45S), which generally allows eligible employers to claim a general business tax credit equal to at least 12.5% of the amount of wages paid to qualifying employees during any period which such employees are on FMLA leave. However, the rate of payment must be at least 50% of the wages normally paid to the employee and must be provided pursuant to written policy."
Fraser Trebilcock

Online Learning Course: COBRA

Even with ACA coverage easier for individuals to obtain, group health plans must continue to offer COBRA coverage. This course explains technicalities of COBRA, including who is entitled and how to administer.

Trends to Watch in Employer Health Benefits for 2018
"Appealing to multiple generations in the workplace ... Savings from utilization slows, pressure to hold down prices grows ... Recognizing patients as consumers and customers."
healthstat

Self-Funding of Ancillary Benefits Helps Control Plan Cost
"The most commonly self-funded ancillary benefits are dental and short-term disability, followed by vision. These employee benefits are relatively low risk.... Short-term disability is a popular benefit for employees needing maternity leave. However, if you plan accordingly, these claims won't drastically affect the benefit spend."
Corporate Synergies

Amazon Wades In: A 'Disruption' in Healthcare?
"Given its outsize influence on Americans' daily lives, [Brian Marcotte, CEO of the National Business Group on Health] said it will be intriguing to watch how Amazon can overcome the 'fragmented and complex' nature of the current healthcare-delivery system. And while the independent healthcare company proposed in the partnership will only cover employees of the three participating companies, Marcotte said it would not be a surprise if the end result -- if successful -- is someday made widely available all consumers."
Human Resource Executive Online

Text of Comment Letters to DOL on Proposed Regs Defining 'Employer' Under Section 3(5) of ERISA: Association Health Plans
The 79 letters posted to the DOL website as of Jan. 31, 2018 were submitted to DOL in response to its request for comments on proposed regs for association health plans. Deadline for comments is March 6, 2018.
Employee Benefits Security Administration [EBSA], U.S. Department of Labor [DOL]

Reading this on your mobile device? Get the BenefitsLink App!

Now available on Google Play and in the App Store , the free BenefitsLink mobile app includes all the same great content as the daily newsletter -- news, jobs, events, message boards -- at your fingertips when you're on the go. Download today!

Proposed Federal Changes to Short-Term Health Coverage Leave Regulation to States
"An upcoming proposed rule will likely rescind the minimal restrictions on short-term plans ... which were put in place to prevent insurers from siphoning healthy enrollees away from the individual marketplace. If these changes are finalized, regulation of short-term policies will be left almost entirely to states. But many states currently have few, or no, standards for short-term plans."
The Commonwealth Fund

How Amazon, JPMorgan and Berkshire Hathaway Might Repackage Health Care
"Though details regarding the undertaking are thin, the companies said in a release that their partnership's intent is to improve employee satisfaction and hold down costs by bringing 'their scale and complementary expertise to this long-term effort.' ... KHN asked a variety of health policy experts their thoughts on this venture, and what advice they would offer these CEOs as they go forward."
Kaiser Health News

Nearly One in Five Workers Had Access to Financial Planning Benefits in 2017
"In 2017, about one-fifth of private industry workers were offered free or subsidized financial planning services from their employers. These services help employees make decisions about savings, borrowing, investing, home buying, education expenses, or retirement. While union and nonunion workers had similar rates of access to financial planning services, access varied based on size of establishment, wage level, and industry."
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics [BLS]

Employment Cost Index Summary, December 2017
"Compensation costs for civilian workers increased 0.6 percent, seasonally adjusted, for the 3-month period ending in December 2017 ... Wages and salaries (which make up about 70 percent of compensation costs) increased 0.5 percent, and benefits (which make up the remaining 30 percent of compensation) increased 0.5 percent."
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics [BLS]

Employer Overpays Its Portion of Health Premiums; Can It Recover from Employee?
If a company realizes that it overpaid its portion of H&W premium during every pay period in 2017 -- which resulted in an employee [1] not having his portion deducted pre-tax (because the employer's payment was enough) and [2] having additional taxable income, can the employer create a payment plan to recover the overpayment in 2018 (spread out over each pay period)? Are there ACA considerations (e.g., affordability of coverage in 2018 because the employee would be paying for 2017 benefits during 2018)?
BenefitsLink Message Boards

Follow ALL New Discussions :
? Subscribe (free) to the new, daily BenefitsLink Message Boards Digest (which contains ALL new discussions, not just the selected discussions shown above).
? See a sample issue .

Press Releases

QBI Celebrates 40 Years in Business QBI, LLC

Director Joseph Faucher Recognized by Super Lawyers in Southern California Trucker Huss

Catalyst for Payment Reform Launches 2018 Aligned Sourcing & Contracting Tools Catalyst for Payment Reform [CPR]

Westminster Consulting was Named to PLANADVISER Top 100 Retirement Plan Advisers for 2018 Westminster Consulting

View All Press Releases