03/12/2013
The Affordable Care Act health care reform law required employers to begin notifying employees on March 1 about the availability of state-based exchanges as an option for buying health insurance. But the DOL has temporarily rescinded the notice requirement.
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03/01/2013
The health care reform law required employers to begin notifying employees on March 1 about the availability of state-based exchanges as an option for buying health insurance. But acknowledging the obvious—that the state exchanges are nowhere near ready to go live—the Department of Labor has temporarily rescinded the notice requirement.
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02/26/2013
If you didn’t provide employees with notice regarding the health insurance exchanges by March 1, you’re off the hook. The DOL has postponed this notice requirement until late summer or fall, which coincides with the exchanges’ open enrollment period.
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02/25/2013
A key portion of the Affordable Care Act health care reform law is the employer play-or-pay provision, also known as the employer mandate. Regulations, which are proposed to become effective for months after Dec. 31, 2013, implement this provision. You may rely on these regs until final regs are issued.
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02/21/2013
Starting this year, TD Bank is offsetting the additional federal and state taxes that its lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered (LGBT) employees pay for domestic-partner benefits compared with heterosexual married couples.
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02/20/2013
We reported last month that traditional health plans must pay a new $1 per insured fee to fund medical research. Now the Feds say the fees also apply to some health reimbursement arrangements and flexible spending accounts.
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01/30/2013
HR Law 101: The Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA) of 1978 prohibits discrimination on the basis of "pregnancy, childbirth and related medical conditions." Employers can't deny a woman a job or a promotion merely because she's pregnant or has had an abortion ...
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01/23/2013
The Affordable Care Act health care reform law requires you to provide current employees and new hires with a notice regarding health insurance coverage, beginning March 1.
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01/21/2013
HR Law 101: Drug testing and substance abuse prevention programs can involve substantial legal liability if employers don't manage and administer them properly. If your organization decides to implement a drug testing program, there are ways to minimize the risk of employee lawsuits ...
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01/10/2013
As the legislative wrangling to avert a plunge over the federal budget’s fiscal cliff heated up late last year, the IRS released its list of the nation’s biggest tax breaks. Three of the top 10 involved employee benefits.
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01/09/2013
The Affordable Care Act health care reform law doesn’t fully kick in for another year. But that hasn’t stopped DOL auditors from scrutinizing group health plans for provisions that have already taken effect. Make sure your plan complies with the following requirements.
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01/09/2013
To determine what works in providing medical care, the Affordable Care Act health care reform law created the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI). For seven plan years, PCORI will be funded with fees on plan sponsors of self-insured plans, including retiree-only and COBRA plans. Now comes news that sponsors of insured plans that offer employees health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs) and certain health flexible spending accounts (FSAs) must also pay fees.
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01/09/2013
When employees of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina don’t feel well, they can log onto the Internet and find out why. The company has partnered with American Well and Walgreens Take Care Health Systems to create a telehealth service for employees.
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01/08/2013
To determine what works in providing medical care, the Affordable Care Act health care reform law created the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute. For seven plan years, it will be funded with fees on plan sponsors of self-insured plans, including retiree-only and COBRA plans.
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01/03/2013
The Nebraska state government reduced employee health claims by $4.2 million over three years after introducing a wellness program that features 100% coverage of preventive health care and lower premiums. The effort led Nebraska to become the first state to win the C. Everett Koop National Health Award.
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