The U.S. House of Representatives has voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act. By a margin of 229-195, the House on May 16th approved measure H.R. 45, introduced by Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn. It is highly unlikely that the measure will be taken up within the Senate, where Democrats are the majority. Even in the [...]
May 15, 2013
DOL Issues Guidance on Exchange Notices
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) released Technical Release 2013-02 providing temporary guidance regarding the Affordable Care Acts Health Insurance Exchange Availability Notice. In addition to the exchange coverage options notice, this release provides an updated model election notice for group health plans for purposes of the continuation coverage provisions under [...]
May 13, 2013
Exchange Application Cut From 21 Pages to 5
Subsequent to criticism that initial forms were too complex, administration officials have released a significantly more simplified draft application for individuals seeking benefits through a public exchange. The new applications for individuals are now three pages and for families seven pages. This compares to the original draft released by Health and Human Services that topped [...]
May 8, 2013
Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
These days, EAP is a cornerstone to any benefits package offered by employers. EAP services include crisis management, counseling and even management support. When choosing an EAP package to put in place at your company, it’s important to know the differences between a stand-alone EAP policy and bundled EAP that you may get for “free” [...]
May 3, 2013
2014 HSA Contribution Limits
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released Revenue Procedure 2013-25 which provides the 2014 inflation adjusted deduction limitations for annual contributions made to a health savings (HSA) account. Deduction limitations are updated annually to reflect cost-of-living adjustments. For calendar year 2014, the annual limitations on HSA’s are as follows: Maximum Contributions Self-only coverage: $3,300 Family coverage: $6,550 [...]
May 1, 2013
National High Blood Pressure Education Month
Blood pressure measures the force of blood against the arterial walls. “Blood pressure is recorded as two numbers—the systolic pressure (as the heart beats) over the diastolic pressure (as the heart relaxes between beats) (NHLBI).” High blood pressure can have serious impacts on health. The increased tension on the arterial walls (hypertension) increases the risk [...]
April 23, 2013
PPACA’s Impact on Affordability
A March 2013 report by the Independent Society of Actuaries (SOA) forecasts that the individual market could experience as much as a 32% cost of care increase on average due to changes enacted by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). The resulting premiums would be dramatically increased as those costs would be passed [...]
April 16, 2013
Small-Business Health Care Program Delayed
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act creates as part of the Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP) exchanges. Through these exchanges small businesses up to 100 employees are supposed to be able to purchase qualified coverage from a government run purchasing exchange. However, the federal government announced the SHOP program will be delayed until [...]
April 10, 2013
90-Day Waiting Period Limitation
For plan years beginning on or after January 1, 2014, the Affordable Care Act limits the length of the waiting period for group health plans and health insurance issuers to a maximum of 90 days. Simple enough, right? (If you said “yes”, I envy your wide-eyed innocence in the ways of health care reform regulation.) [...]
April 8, 2013
COBRA: 101
COBRA stands for Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1986. Now you might want to know what COBRA consist of- The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) requires most group health plans to provide a temporary continuation of group health coverage if coverage is lost. The law covers health plans maintained by private-sector employers with [...]
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