SEARCH

Showing 843 results found

Government-Provided Healthcare Sounds Good – but Sometimes the Devil You Know Is Better

Viewpoints from Craig Hasday Politico reported today that states are facing difficult cuts to benefits and services as a result of the coronavirus. The biggest budget line item for states is, of course, Medicaid. With the dramatic drop in income and sales tax revenue and the surge in newly eligible citizens, states are facing tough decisions. In the last downturn, “non-essential services” like dental care and podiatric services were cut, and payments to doctors and hospitals were slashed in a desperate effort to contain costs. This crisis is sure to be worse… much worse. Remember that under the Affordable …

https://www.epicbrokers.com/insights/government-provided-healthcare-sounds-good-but-sometimes-the-devil-you-know-is-better/

If COBRA Wasn’t Confusing Enough, the White House Is Going to Mix It up for You

Viewpoints from Craig Hasday The federal government has been at it again with their point-and-shoot (whatever happened to aim?) rule writing. This time the Department of Labor (DOL) and the Department of Treasury, which directs the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), jointly issued a final rule extending notice and election times for Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) special elections, among other extensions. This whopper is retroactive to March 1, 2020 (really?) and applies to all plans subject to Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), which would include self-insured plans …

https://www.epicbrokers.com/insights/if-cobra-wasnt-confusing-enough-the-white-house-is-going-to-mix-it-up-for-you/

EBSA Issues New Model COBRA Notices and Guidance

Quick Facts: The Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) today issued new model notices that plans may use to provide the required general and election notices under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 (COBRA). The new model notices contain more detail regarding how COBRA interacts with Medicare. The EBSA also released new FAQs to address the interplay between COBRA and Medicare. Employers who have developed their own COBRA notices based on the existing EBSA templates should update their notices to incorporate the latest details regarding COBRA and Medicare. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration …

https://www.epicbrokers.com/insights/ebsa-issues-new-model-cobra-notices-and-guidance/

DOL Updates Required FFCRA Poster and FAQs

… what they need to do with the poster. The FAQs have been updated to include reference to the updated poster, and are summarized below. Where do I post this notice? Since most of my workforce is teleworking, where do I electronically “post” this notice? Each covered employer must post a notice of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) requirements in a conspicuous place on its premises. An employer may satisfy this requirement by emailing or direct mailing this notice to employees, or posting this notice on an employee information internal or external website. Do I have to post this

https://www.epicbrokers.com/insights/dol-updates-required-ffcra-poster-and-faqs/

IRS Extends Deadline for 2019 Health Savings Account Contributions

… 15, 2020. In turn, the IRS extended the standard deadline for contributions to HSAs. The FAQs also clarify that individuals have until July 15, 2020 to withdraw excess HSA contribution amounts (and any interest or income on the excess amounts) to avoid the 6% excise tax on excess contributions. EPIC Employee Benefits Compliance Services For further information on this or any other topics, please contact your EPIC consulting team. Learn About Our Employee Benefits Compliance Services EPIC offers this material for general information only. EPIC does not intend this material to be, nor may any person receiving this information construe …

https://www.epicbrokers.com/insights/irs-extends-deadline-for-2019-health-savings-account-contributions/

Feds Extend Deadlines for Certain Plan Filings

Quick Facts: The IRS and the DOL recently announced limited, automatic extended deadlines for filing Forms 5500 and M-1 due to the COVID-19 National Emergency. The relief applies to filings due on or after April 1, 2020, and before July 15, 2020, including due dates for extensions falling within those dates. The limited extension window does not apply to Forms 5500 for 2019 calendar year plans, which have a standard due date of July 31, 2020. Calendar-year plans may still request a Form 5500 filing extension by submitting Form 5558 to the IRS. The Internal Revenue Service …

https://www.epicbrokers.com/insights/feds-extend-deadlines-for-certain-plan-filings/

The Return of Fear-Mongering Consulting

For more of our coronavirus coverage, visit epicbrokers.com/coronavirus  Viewpoints from Adam Okun Just over a decade ago, as the Great Recession was beginning to take form, I was working for a prestigious human capital consulting firm that began circulating an ominous set of slides to its client base. The frightening message (supposedly backed by two decades of data) was clear: beware of the coming spike in healthcare claims. That’s right – this organization, with nearly 20,000 of the most brilliant minds in the industry, concluded that the recession of 2008 was going to lead to a spike …

https://www.epicbrokers.com/insights/the-return-of-fear-mongering-consulting/

Departments Extend Certain Benefit Election and Notice Dates

The Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) has issued Disaster Relief Notice 2020-01 (Notice) in which it declared that employee benefit plans, employers, plan sponsors, plan fiduciaries, plan service providers, participants, beneficiaries and employees will have additional time to perform certain time-sensitive plan actions due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Notice provides relief for a period beginning March 1, 2020, and ending 60 days after the officially announced end of the COVID-19 National Emergency (Outbreak Period) or such other date announced by the Department of Labor (DOL) in a future notice. The Department of …

https://www.epicbrokers.com/insights/departments-extend-certain-benefit-election-and-notice-dates/