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Can ICHRAs Be Used to Make Healthcare a Defined Contribution Benefit?

… allow an employer to use the ICHRA for all, or a class of, employees; however, an employer cannot offer an ICHRA and traditional health insurance to the same group of employees. Eligible classes include full-time, part-time, salaried, non-salaried, seasonal, temporary, employees in a waiting period, collectively bargained employee groups, geographic rating area of a workplace, and non-resident aliens with no U.S. source income. Classes must consist of at least 10 employees for groups with 100 or fewer employees, 20 for groups with more than 200 employees, and 10% (round down to nearest whole number) of …

https://www.epicbrokers.com/insights/can-ichras-be-used-to-make-healthcare-a-defined-contribution-benefit/

The Trump Administration Introduces New Rules to Radically Change Medicaid

Last week, the Trump administration released its new Healthy Adult Opportunity plan. This plan is an effort by Republicans to ease Medicaid rules and allow states better control of the cost of providing indigent care. Medicaid is a shared funding obligation of the federal government and states and accounts for just under 30% of state spending and around 10% of the federal budget. It is an open-ended program, which requires payment for all needed care. This new plan allows states to opt out of the current funding program and in its place receive a block grant with spending caps …

https://www.epicbrokers.com/insights/the-trump-administration-introduces-new-rules-to-radically-change-medicaid/

EPIC Adds Blake Chauvin as Vice President

EPIC Insurance Brokers and Consultants, a retail property and casualty insurance brokerage and employee benefits consultant, announced today that Blake Chauvin has joined the firm as a Producer in its Concord, California office.  Chauvin, will be responsible for risk management consulting and the design, placement and management of property and casualty insurance programs. He will primarily focus on Private Equity and M&A clients and their unique needs. Chauvin brings over 20 years of experience in risk management and business consulting. He has a wealth of knowledge in working with clients in technology, energy, and healthcare, large retail and real …

https://www.epicbrokers.com/insights/epic-adds-blake-chauvin-as-vice-president/

EPIC Adds Wesley Carson as Senior Vice President

EPIC Insurance Brokers and Consultants, a retail property and casualty insurance brokerage and employee benefits consultant, announced today that Wesley Carson has joined the firm as a Senior Vice President, Employee Benefits in its Sacramento, California office.  Carson will be responsible for employee benefits consulting and the design, placement, and management of custom programs. He will primarily focus on mid to large group plans with EPIC clients. Carson brings over 20 years of experience in health and benefits consulting. His background includes experience in employee benefits, health insurance, professional liability, property & casualty insurance. Prior to joining EPIC, Carson held positions …

https://www.epicbrokers.com/insights/epic-adds-wesley-carson-as-senior-vice-president/

The Road Not (Yet) Taken: Surrogacy Benefits

… many years, mental health found itself in this vortex, then same-sex domestic partner benefits – and now it’s surrogacy expenses. Viewpoints from Adam Okun It is a well-established tax principle that expenses deemed as medical care under the Internal Revenue Code (Section 213) are not included in the employee’s gross wages and therefore not subject to taxation if an employer plan elects to cover those medical services. And while standard infertility services performed on the employee or eligible dependent (e.g. intrauterine insemination [IUI] and in-vitro fertilization [IVF]) are deemed deductible because they affect the body …

https://www.epicbrokers.com/insights/the-road-not-yet-taken-surrogacy-benefits/

Compliance Alert: ACA Affordability Safe Harbors: A Primer

… offer meets the current applicable affordability percentage. BACKGROUND  The ACA requires ALEs to offer full-time employees and their dependent children to age 26 affordable, minimum value health coverage or pay a penalty – the so-called play-or-pay mandate. To avoid potential penalties, an ALE must ensure that the employee’s share of the cost for the lowest-level self-only coverage it offers does not exceed a certain percentage – 9.78% for 2020 – of an employee’s household income. The problem for employers is they generally have no way to know an employee’s household income. The IRS …

https://www.epicbrokers.com/insights/compliance-alert-aca-affordability-safe-harbors-a-primer/

Compliance Alert: Commuter Benefits Legislation Keeps Rolling

… and news where employees work regarding commuter benefit program mandates. Employers may want to consider voluntarily offering such programs to employees nationwide in advance of any municipal or state requirements that may apply in the future. BACKGROUND  Internal Revenue Code (Code) Section 132(f) lets employers offer qualified transportation fringe benefits, or commuter or transit benefits, to their employees. Commuter benefits provide tax incentives for employees to use mass transit and other alternative ways to get to work, with the goal of reducing traffic congestion and improving air quality. In brief, a commuter benefit program allows an employee to set …

https://www.epicbrokers.com/insights/compliance-alert-commuter-benefits-legislation-keeps-rolling/

Compliance Alert: DOL Reveals Higher Health Plan Violation Penalties

QUICK FACTS: The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) recently issued its annual inflation-adjusted penalty amounts for certain Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) violations. The adjusted amounts are intended to create greater incentives to comply with certain federal laws applicable to health and welfare benefit plans. Federal agencies, including the DOL, are required to annually adjust by January 15 the penalties that can be assessed for violating laws and regulations they enforce. The 2020 adjustments are effective for penalties assessed after January 15, 2020, with respect to violations occurring after November 2, 2015. BACKGROUND  Legislation enacted in 2015 …

https://www.epicbrokers.com/insights/compliance-alert-dol-reveals-higher-health-plan-violation-penalties/