To The Point Podcast

On Jan. 22nd President Trump signed into law a continuing spending resolution to end the government shutdown and continue funding through Feb. 8, 2018. This particular resolution also impacted three taxes under the Affordable Care Act (ACA): the Cadillac Tax, the Health Insurance Providers fee and the Medical Device tax. Listen in to learn how these taxes were impacted and what employers should watch for in their health premiums. Learn more: www.tothepointpodcast.com

Do you as an employer allow for pre-tax contributions through a Section 125 plan or cafeteria plan? Do you have an FSA or Dependent Care Account? Do you have a self-funded health plan? If you answered yes to any of these questions then you should be having nondiscrimination testing performed annually. Listen to learn more about what nondiscrimination testing is, why it is important, and what to do if your plan fails. Learn more: www.tothepointpodcast.com

On Dec. 20, 2017, the Court chose to vacate key provisions of the EEOC’s final rules for employer-sponsored wellness plans effective Jan. 1, 2019. Unless the EEOC reconsiders and clarifies its position related to incentives for wellness programs with medical testing and medical questions involved, employers will need to make some changes to these type of wellness programs. Listen in to learn more about why this happened and what employers should do next. Learn more: www.tothepointpodcast.com

The IRS recently updated its list of Frequently Asked Questions related to the ACA’s Employer Mandate where they indicated that penalty letters for calendar year 2015 would start to go out in late 2017. Tune in to learn about IRS Letter 226J and how to quickly respond.

The 2017 year has been full of ups and downs in the world of benefits compliance and the Affordable Care Act. There has been a lot of activity in Congress, though none that has changed the current landscape for employers so far. Listen in for a review of this year and a look forward to 2018.

On Oct. 13, 2017, the IRS reversed a recent policy change in how it monitors compliance with the ACA’s individual mandate. For the upcoming 2018 filing season (filing 2017 tax returns) the IRS will not accept electronically filed tax returns where the taxpayer does not certify whether the individual had health insurance for the year. Also, paper returns that do not certify compliance with the individual mandate may be suspended pending receipt of additional information, and any refunds due may be delayed. Tune in to learn how taxpayers should handle their 2017 returns.

On October 12, 2017, President Trump signed an Executive Order directing the federal agencies in charge of implementing the ACA to propose new regulations or to revise existing guidance to expand access to association health plans, short term insurance plans, and HRAs. Separately, the President issued notice to stop the government’s reimbursement of cost-sharing reduction payments made by insurance carriers that participate in the ACA’s Health Insurance Marketplaces. Is this the beginning of the end for the ACA? Tune in to learn why these things make a difference to the future of the ACA.

On October 6, 2017, The U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS), Treasury, and Labor (the “Departments”) released interim final regulations allowing employers and insurance companies to decline to cover contraceptives under their health plans based on a religious or moral objection. The new rules are effective immediately and scale back Obama-era regulations under the ACA that require non-grandfathered group health plans to cover women’s contraceptives with no cost-sharing, with limited exceptions for non-profit religious organizations or closely-held for-profit entities. Tune in to learn which plans qualify and whether or not your plan could or should take advantage of this change.

Employer sponsored wellness programs put in place with the best of intentions can easily be found non-compliant if the program falls into any of these 4 main compliance pitfalls. Listen in to learn what they are and how to avoid them. Learn more: www.lpinsurance.com

After voting to open up ACA repeal legislation for debate and amendments on July 25, 2017, the 20-hour debate ended on July 28, 2017 with a rejection of the “skinny” repeal bill. Is that the end for ACA repeal? Tune in to learn what happened and if we will see any further repeal attempts. Learn more: www.lpinsurance.com

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. Learn more: www.lpinsurance.com

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.