|
|
Certain Fringe Benefits Provided by Not-For-Profits Are Taxable Income
"As of January 1, 2018, the following fringe benefits are classified as UBI: [1] Qualified transportation benefits. These include commuter vehicle and van pooling as well as transit passes and vouchers for mass transit, such as buses and trains. [2] Qualified parking facility. This includes parking provided by an employer and parking reimbursements provided under a bona-fide reimbursement arrangement. [3] On-premises athletic facility.... Although organizations will now have to pay UBI taxes for these benefits, the benefits will continue to be tax free for employees -- but subject to monthly limits."
Moss Adams LLP
|
ACA Round-Up: CMS Letter to Issuers, Information Collection Requests, and GAO Report on Special Enrollment Period Data Needs
"The 2019 letter to issuers is relatively short compared to previous years and largely incorporates the same requirements from the 2018 letter.... The QHP submission timeline for 2019 is fairly consistent with dates for the 2018 plan year, although the dates in the middle of the process tend to be about one week later and the dates toward the end a little earlier.... In a new requirement for 2019, all insurers must register for the CCIIO Plan Management Community to receive correction and certification notices and other communications from CMS."
Katie Keith, in Health Affairs
|
Typical Plan Administrative Procedures Lead to Unfavorable Court Decision
"It is not uncommon for employers to place the burden on employees of informing the employer when a dependent becomes ineligible for a benefit. Plan documents and SPDs should provide notice that if these rules are not followed, coverage is not in effect, even if premiums are deducted.... Most employers collect dependent birthdates for medical coverage. This information should be shared within the 'enrollment system' to verify eligibility for other coverages, such as life and AD&D." [Frye v. Metropolitan Life Ins. Co., No. 17-31 (E.D. Ark. Feb. 20, 2018)]
Kilpatrick Townsend
|
Are Leave-Sharing Plans a Good Idea?
"[S]tates have their own laws addressing which types of leave can be donated to leaving-sharing programs, so you should begin by examining applicable state law. Such laws typically focus on whether the PTO is 'accrued' or 'vested.'... Federal law doesn't prohibit employers from implementing leave-sharing programs. The predominant issue under federal law involves certain tax consequences."
HR Daily Advisor
|
High Cost Claims by the Numbers
"Just 6% of the members ... generated nearly half the claims, which averaged over $45,000 per member. The next 37% of members ... generated 45% of claims, averaging about $6,500 per member. Meanwhile, the healthiest 57% generated claims averaging only $840 per member.... Understanding the impact of high-cost claims could help you focus your cost management strategy where it will have the greatest benefit."
Mercer
|
[Advert.]
For over 20 years, we've helped employers find the best-informed candidates to fill their benefits job openings -- learn more!
|
High-Cost Claims: You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet
"While it's life-changing for the patient and makes sense for society that these treatments be covered, how will employer plans handle these upfront costs? It would be shortsighted not to promote therapies in our benefit coverages that have lifetime value associated with them because an individual will likely not stay with the same employers for his or her working life."
Mercer
|
$280k Is What a Couple Retiring This Year Will Need to Cover Health Care
"A 65-year-old couple retiring this year will need $280,000 to cover health care and medical expenses throughout their retirement, according to Fidelity Investments. This is a 2% increase from 2017 -- and a 75% increase from Fidelity's first estimate in 2002. Fidelity says the cost breaks out to $133,000 for men and $147,000 for women, primarily because of their expected longer lifespans."
PLANSPONSOR
|
Colorado Employers Are Pushing Higher Health Care Costs to Workers
"A new report ... reveals that the cost of health insurance for employers in Colorado is increasing faster than the national average -- and that employers are often pushing that added cost onto their workers. Meanwhile, an annual study released last year found, for the first time in its history, that the percentage of Coloradans covered by an employer-based plan had dropped below 50 percent. Taken together, the two reports paint a worrisome picture for employer-based insurance, the workhorse of Colorado's health coverage system."
The Denver Post
|
[Opinion]
Radical Incrementalism or System Re-Design: Which Way Forward for U.S. Healthcare?
"The U.S. healthcare system is ... caught between the tyranny of the present and the possibilities of its future.... [I]ntramural conflicts, financial incentives that often reward short-term results and a structure that's flawed limit its potential.... The current state is not sustainable. We have perfected radical incrementalism. We defend it vigorously with three worn barbs: patients don't want it, physicians will resist it, and radical change is impractical, especially when the incumbents are strong and the status quo is profitable. And we fight the entry of outsiders who dare invade our turf."
Paul Keckley
|
|
Benefits in General
|
Benefits Claim of Employee Who Claimed Prior Misclassification Was Preempted by ERISA
"Granting dismissal of an employee's (who was a former independent contractor) claim that his prior misclassification resulted in denial of the value of the benefits plan he would have received had he been properly classified, the federal district court in Massachusetts found that this portion of his claim was preempted by ERISA. The state law causes of action under the Massachusetts independent contractor law 'related to' the employee benefit plans covered by ERISA, concluded the court[.]" [Lavery v. Restoration Hardware, Inc., No. 17-10856 (D. Mass. Mar. 28, 2018)]
Wolters Kluwer Law & Business
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
BenefitsLink.com, Inc.
1298 Minnesota Avenue, Suite H
Winter Park, Florida 32789
(407) 644-4146
Lois Baker, J.D., President
David Rhett Baker, J.D., Editor and Publisher
Holly Horton, Business Manager
BenefitsLink Health & Welfare Plans Newsletter, ISSN no. 1536-9595. Copyright 2018 BenefitsLink.com, Inc. All materials contained in this newsletter are protected by United States copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of BenefitsLink.com, Inc., or in the case of third party materials, the owner of those materials. You may not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or other notices from copies of the content.
Links to web sites other than BenefitsLink.com and EmployeeBenefitsJobs.com are offered as a service to our readers; we were not involved in their production and are not responsible for their content.
Unsubscribe |
Privacy Policy
|
Client Service Associate
