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Checklist for Strategic and Compliant Employee Benefit Plan Communications

Background For employees to fully understand the valuable investment that your company makes in their benefits, you should convey benefit plan information during annual enrollment in an engaging, compelling manner. At the same time, annual enrollment is a great chance to distribute required health plan notices and legal information regarding employee benefits. The below checklist will help you meet these important goals. The checklist includes recommended content for compliant enrollment communications and required health plan notices that you may wish to provide at enrollment. In addition, the checklist outlines considerations for successfully communicating the value of — and encouraging enrollment in …

https://www.epicbrokers.com/insights/checklist-for-strategic-and-compliant-employee-benefit-plan-communications/

IRS Increases 2021 ACA Affordability Contribution

Quick Facts Employers subject to the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) employer shared responsibility rules may be subject to penalties if they offer unaffordable coverage to full-time employees. Employees (and family members) who are eligible for coverage under an employer-sponsored plan that is affordable and provides minimum value are not eligible for the premium tax credit the ACA provides for Marketplace coverage. For plan years beginning in 2021, an employer’s offer of coverage is affordable if an employee’s required contribution for self-only coverage does not exceed 9.83% of the employee’s household income for …

https://www.epicbrokers.com/insights/irs-increases-2021-aca-affordability-contribution/

Executive Orders Aimed at Drug Costs Miss the Mark

Viewpoints from Craig Hasday Trying to regain momentum in the election polls, President Trump released four executive orders that he claims will “completely restructure” the prescription drug market. However, most analysts agree that there is not much new and nothing revolutionary in these orders. The most potentially impactful of these orders is a rehash from a prior Presidential Blueprint in May 2018. One order requires middlemen to pass along all discounts received to Medicare patients. Good idea, except for the provision that requires the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to confirm the order will not …

https://www.epicbrokers.com/insights/executive-orders-aimed-at-drug-costs-miss-the-mark/

Covering Coronavirus: Risk Considerations Volume 1, Issue 19

EPIC Risk Advisory Bulletin Volume 1, Issue 19 The global COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic remains both dynamic and fluid. We continue to see unprecedented disruptions at home and abroad. In this issue, we take a focused look at: General Information on Coronavirus Insurance Products and Coverage Information Pandemic Insurance – Public Private Partnership? D&O Insurance Impacts of Coronavirus Claims Cyber Rates May Continue to Rise London’s Role in U.S. Business Interruption Cases News of Note Human Resources and Employee Benefits OSHA Answers to Frequently Asked Questions Guidance for Employers on Managing Leave, Closures Presumptive Compensability Legislation Update Insights …

https://www.epicbrokers.com/insights/covering-coronavirus-risk-considerations-volume-1-issue-19/

Community Wellness: Considering Paid Sick Leave

See more of our COVID-19 employer resources for employee benefits and risk management on the EPIC dedicated coronavirus webpage Viewpoints from Claire Letourneau This summer, I look around and see a strange battle with community wellness playing out. Often misunderstood or ignored, the heart of community wellness is doing something likely to be good for you, but is definitely good for those around you. It’s debatable whether wearing a mask helps to protect you from coronavirus, but it is indisputable that it will keep those around you safer. I just had my birthday (don’t all send me …

https://www.epicbrokers.com/insights/community-wellness-considering-paid-sick-leave/

Health Insurers Are Making a Lot of Money – Will You Get Your Share?

Viewpoints from Craig Hasday It was no surprise to me that UnitedHealth Group (UHG) reported a second-quarter surge in earnings for 2020. During the onset of the pandemic lockdown, non-COVID-19 medical care screeched to a halt. UHG’s earnings from operations doubled to $9.2 billion on $62.1 billion of reported revenue for the three months ending on June 30. Margins increased to 10.7% up from 5.4% in Q2 2019 and 5.2% in Q1 2020. Of particular interest to me were the reported enrollment statistics. Despite historic unemployment, domestic covered lives decreased by …

https://www.epicbrokers.com/insights/health-insurers-are-making-a-lot-of-money-will-you-get-your-share/

Managing Pharmacy Costs Is Key for Employers

Viewpoints from Briana Loff Every year, Express Scripts (ESI), one of the nation’s top leading pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), releases its annual drug trend report. Their report for 2019 analyzed costs and spending for over 33.6 million members currently enrolled in one of their drug plans. Express Scripts noted this is the third year in a row they’ve been able to keep drug spend under 3%, which is a huge deal. The top cost drivers for 2019? Inflammatory conditions such as psoriasis and rheumatoid arthritis, which drove 43.7% of spending. To give you some reference, diabetes …

https://www.epicbrokers.com/insights/managing-pharmacy-costs-is-key-for-employers/

The Biden Healthcare Blueprint Has Been Released

Healthcare, no doubt, will be a critical election issue. President Trump continues to press for the complete repeal of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). This, despite the fact that 500,000 Americans have acquired coverage on the exchanges since the onset of COVID-19. Americans are very concerned about healthcare and it seems this will be an area of vulnerability in November. The president sees this, announcing three upcoming executive orders on drug pricing. Meanwhile, Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, has rolled out his vision of changing healthcare by introducing his plan, which claims will increase enrollment to …

https://www.epicbrokers.com/insights/the-biden-healthcare-blueprint-has-been-released/