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Insurance

DOJ asks Supreme Court to fast-track ACA decision

10/12/2011
The Department of Justice has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to rule on the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act health care reform law, paving the way for a fast-tracked decision that—regardless of which way it goes—will affect comp and benefits professionals for years to come.

10 ways to perk up open enrollment season

10/10/2011

The double-whammy of incessant media focus on health care reform, plus employees’ acute awareness of rising health care premiums, means they’re paying attention to their benefits in a way that most never did before. You can capitalize on this trend by using this open enrollment season to make an extra effort to educate workers about their health benefits and help them decide which plan options work best for them.

Coming in 2012: Revamped health plan summaries

10/07/2011
A common gripe among employees is that they don’t understand their health care plans. As a result, they end up making mistakes and choosing plans that don’t meet their health care needs or budgets. The federal government aims to diminish confusion by changing the way employers explain health care plans to employees.

Supreme Court asked to fast-track decision on health reform law

10/04/2011
The Obama administration has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to rule on the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act health care reform law—the administration’s hallmark domestic legislative achievement—paving the way for a fast-tracked decision that, regardless of which way it goes, will affect HR professionals for years to come.

HRAs Off the Hook for Annual Waiver Limits

10/01/2011
For plan years beginning Sept. 23, 2011, unless the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services grants a waiver, group health plans that impose annual or lifetime limits on the dollar value of essential benefits are restricted to imposing an annual limit of $1.25 million.

HHS bans co-pays for birth control, other services

09/12/2011
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued new guidelines in August that require health insurance plans to cover eight different kinds of women’s preventive serv­ices without charging a co-payment or deductible.

Small business? Use tax credit to help pay for insurance

08/23/2011
One goal of last year’s federal health-care reform legislation was to make it more affordable for small business owners to offer health insurance benefits to employees. So, tucked into the Affordable Care Act is a little-noticed but potentially invaluable provision that could save small businesses thousands of dollars per year.

New law clarifies leave for organ, bone marrow donors

08/18/2011
Gov. Jerry Brown has signed legislation that spells out insurance and time-off requirements related to California’s new law that guarantees paid leave for employees who donate organs and bone marrow.

Since the economy tanked, what have you done to control health care costs?

08/16/2011
About 60% of respondents to our HR Weekly poll say they have taken specific steps to address rising health insurance costs.

Worker can’t return from FMLA leave? Beware demanding repayment of health benefits

08/11/2011

It’s expensive to cover an absent employee’s health insurance premiums when he is on FMLA leave—especially if he has family coverage. How­­ever, the law requires employers to do so. What happens if the employee doesn’t return? In some cases, em­­ployers can demand reimbursement for the premiums it paid. That’s true except if the employee doesn’t come back because he or she is still sick or has to continue to care for a sick relative.