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Health & Welfare Plans Newsletter October 21, 2020 |
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Newly Posted The Transformation of Employee Benefits – for Benefits Brokers
Annual Disability & Leave Management Symposium: Leave it to Us
The Transformation of Employee Benefits – for Benefits Brokers
2021 Onsite Employee Health Clinics Summit
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Discussions |
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This Newsletter:
BenefitsLink Retirement Plans Newsletter:
Message Boards Digest:
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[Official Guidance]
7 pages of Q&As covering [1] Definitions; [2] Accruals; [3] Permitted uses; [4] Who is eligible; [5] Leave increments; [6] Rate of pay; [7] Alternative accrual system; [8] Collective bargaining agreements; [9] Other leave laws; and [10] Employee rights & protections. New York State Department of Labor |
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[Guidance Overview]
"[The] FAQ document provides some helpful guidance but leaves employers with much more to be desired and several unanswered questions. At this point it is unclear whether the FAQ document is to be the only clarifying reference for employers or whether the state will release additional guidance." Goldberg Segalla |
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[Guidance Overview]
"The Sacramento Board of Supervisors has joined many other California locales, including Los Angeles City and County, San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, in requiring employers to provide COVID-related paid sick leave. On top of required paid sick leave for designated reasons, the Ordinance contains numerous other employer obligations, such as vigorous cleaning protocols and an employee's right to refuse to work.... The law went into effect October 1, 2020, and requires compliance starting on October 16, 2020." Seyfarth |
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[Guidance Overview]
"[If] an employee who is subject to the Form W-2 safe harbor experiences a reduction in hours, but must continue to pay the same employee contribution each month, the coverage may no longer be affordable when compared to the employee's annual Form W-2 earnings.... Because [FFCRA's] PHEL and EPSL are types of paid leave, while an employee is on PHEL or EPSL, that individual's hours will continue to count for ACA purposes.... Employers with employees subject to the lookback method should consider how a reduction in hours impacts an employee, considered to be full-time pursuant to a stability period, who decides to discontinue coverage." Gallagher |
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[Guidance Overview]
"A new code G must be entered on Form 1095-B, line 8 ... to identify an individual coverage health reimbursement arrangement (ICHRA).... [T]he Form 1095-C has been modified to include several changes for 2020 reporting ... The 'Employee's Age as of January 1' is a new required field.... There is a new Line 17 in Part II of the Form 1095-C to enter the zip code used by the employer for determining affordability of an ICHRA if one was offered to the employee." Burnham Benefits |
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"Rutledge v. PCMA ... will rock the employee benefits world in the years ahead ... for two reasons: [1] It has the potential to exponentially increase or hinder state-level action intended to lower the price of prescription drugs. [2] It could dramatically change legal precedent about the scope of ERISA's preemption of state-level regulatory authority." [Rutledge v. Pharmaceutical Care Mgmt. Assoc., Nos. 17-1609 and 17-1629 (8th Cir. Jun. 8, 2018; oral arg. Oct. 6, 2020)] MZQ Consulting, LLC |
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"Increasing engagement in benefits takes a blend of human-and-technology intervention. Artificial-intelligence-powered software notifies members of programs that may benefit them, using texts, emails or phone calls. The technology learns from data, such as the types of care a member uses, whether they adopt benefits like second-opinion services, and how and how often they engage with Accolade, Humana, or their health care provider.... Personalized, data-driven health care applications and services can create savings for employers and employees by helping members find affordable, quality care when they need it or before they do." The Business Journals |
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"Retirees, to some extent, can control post-retirement income and could have one eye on the IRMAA premium tables while they do so. Maybe at least so far as not going one dollar over an income bracket and suffering a premium increase for the whole bracket." Quarles & Brady LLP |
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"[T]he cost impact of an eligible employee's delayed retirement for one year can be equal to that of the combined sick leave and personal time off on a company-wide basis.... [One company] traced about 40% of their healthcare spend to a population of only 12% of their workforce, most of whom were eligible for Medicare or would be within two years. With an optional program in place to help older employees make end-of-career transitions, 60% chose retirement and/or moved to Medicare plans that fit their needs." Corporate Synergies |
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Benefits in General |
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"[The Plan] Committee must ensure that technical, physical, and administrative safeguards are in place and are designed to protect the confidentiality, integrity, availability, and resiliency of plan assets, and that such safeguards meet the Committee's legal obligations and industry standards.... A key factor in understanding potential liability will be determined by how the Committee responds to and manages any cyber-attack if, as, and when one occurs." Foley & Lardner LLP |
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Press Releases |
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Findley to Join USI
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Most Popular Items in the Previous Issue |
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HIPAA Breach Notifications for Employers
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Employers Expand New Approaches for Health Care Delivery
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BenefitsLink Health & Welfare Plans Newsletter, ISSN no. 1536-9595. Copyright 2020 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.
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