Client Service Center Associate
Alerus Financial
in MN

Vice President, Relationship Manager (CA SSRP)
Ascensus
in MA

Senior Manager of Healthcare Delivery
UNITE HERE HEALTH
in IL

Bundled Client Services Specialist
Nationwide Insurance
in OH

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Text of IRS Notice 2018-71: Employer Credit for Paid Family and Medical Leave (PDF)

27 pages. "This notice provides guidance on the employer credit for paid family and medical leave under section 45S of the Internal Revenue Code. This notice also announces that the Department of the Treasury and the [IRS] intend to publish proposed regulations under section 45S.... This notice includes sections on the following topics: A. Eligible Employer; B. Family and Medical Leave; C. Minimum Paid Leave Requirements; D. Calculating and Claiming the Credit; E. Effective Date." Internal Revenue Service [IRS]

Cafeteria Plan Election Rules: Flexible Spending Accounts

"IRS regulations ... do not permit an employee to select any option available when a particular election change event occurs, but instead limit options according to the type of event that has occurred.... [This article focuses] on IRS rules governing changes for two types of FSAs -- health FSAs and Dependent Care Assistance Plans (DCAPs)." Gallagher

When Do Workplace Wellness Programs Become Coercive?

"The central question is how truly voluntary something is when a large financial incentive is attached. As a result of the court decision, ... workers may find their employers starting to offer smaller incentives for these programs. Also, the programs might include more options for qualifying for those incentives -- a choice, for instance, between undergoing a medical exam or completing online health education training." National Public Radio

Telehealth Reimbursement Uncertainty Creating Inequities in Healthcare

"More providers are offering some sort of telemedicine or remote monitoring service. While some payers have begun partnering with telehealth vendors, many plans have no reimbursement schedule at all for telehealth. Depending on their coverage, a patient may be effectively barred from these programs unless they are willing to pay out of pocket." FierceHealthcare

Television Crew's Filming of Hospital Patients Results in HIPAA Settlements Totaling Nearly $1 Million

"In some cases the hospitals had reviewed and assessed patient privacy issues concerning the filming and adopted protections concerning patient privacy, for example, providing the film crews with the same HIPAA privacy training that workforce members received ... Despite these protections, however, HHS concluded in its investigations that the hospitals: [1] Impermissibly disclosed patients' protected health information (PHI) to the television crews by permitting filming without first receiving patient authorizations. [2] Failed to adequately safeguard patient PHI from disclosure." Thomson Reuters Practical Law

Consumer Protections in Private Health Insurance for Individuals with Preexisting Health Conditions (PDF)

"Before full implementation of the [ACA's] insurance reforms, ... insurers generally were permitted to consider health factors in determining the offer of insurance, its price, and covered health services. Although references to individuals with preexisting conditions commonly focus on the possibility of denial of insurance, they also pertain to the offer of insurance that is more expensive on the basis of health factors and to insurance that excludes health services to treat preexisting conditions." Congressional Research Service [CRS]

Would Reinsurance Drive Premiums Down in Montana?

"[Montana] Governor Steve Bullock announced the creation of a bipartisan work group that will design a bill ordering the state to submit a Section 1332 waiver that would form a public program.... Recent federal policies are expected to raise premiums in Montana by $1,300 on average ... Bullock vetoed a reinsurance bill in Montana in 2017 because it would have given the state insurance commissioner too much power[.]" FierceHealthcare

District Court Compels Unum to Produce Information About Its Alleged Forecasting and Targeting of Disability Claims for Termination

"Plaintiff alleged that Unum wrongfully terminated her long term disability benefits under the Boy Scouts of America Long Term Disability Plan. Plaintiff filed a motion to compel responses to discovery requests aimed at ascertaining Unum's business practice of forecasting and targeting disability claims for potential 'recoveries' or terminations.... The court found Unum's boilerplate objections to be improper especially when Unum failed to submit any evidentiary declarations supporting the objections." [ Gray v. Unum Life Ins. Co. of America , No. 17-1778 (C.D. Cal. Sept. 21, 2018; unpub.)]
Kantor & Kantor

Text of IRS Notice 2018-75: Guidance Under Section 132(g) for the Exclusion from Income of Qualified Moving Expense Reimbursements (PDF)

"This notice provides that the suspension of the exclusion from income provided by section 132(a)(6) under section 132(g)(2) does not apply to amounts received directly or indirectly by an individual in 2018 from an employer for expenses incurred in connection with a move occurring prior to January 1, 2018, that would have been deductible as moving expenses under section 217 of the Code if they had been paid directly by the individual prior to January 1, 2018[.]"
Internal Revenue Service [IRS]

Keys to Modernizing Employee Benefits

"[1] Offer a purpose-driven portfolio of benefits.... [2] Optimize the financing of benefits programs.... [3] Use technology to engage employees and help them make informed choices.... [4] Gain efficiencies through operating model and administration technologies.... [5] Use data-driven insights for informed decision making." Willis Towers Watson

Press Releases

Murphy Austin's Scott E. Galbreath Inducted as Fellow of the American College of Employee Benefits Counsel Murphy Austin

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Most Popular Items in the Previous Issue

A Closer Look at Health Savings Accounts: An Overlooked Retirement Savings Vehicle Cammack Retirement Group

Employers, Why Don't You Require That Employees Call Two Phone Numbers to Request FMLA Leave? FMLA Insights

Health FSA Limit Projected to Increase in 2019 Buck