If you have a high deductible health plan and have been wondering about FSA/HSA eligibility issues, this article is for you. It also includes updates on the health plan identifier (HPID) analysis for HRA/FSA plans. Technical stuff for sure, but nevertheless important. All this interesting info comes to us from our friends at ProBenefits, Inc. Thank you, ProBenefits, for helping to keep COBRAGuard readers on the cutting edge of health care reform!
Tags: cobra administration, aca update, health reform compliance, health reform news
Now that the Affordable Care Act’s “shared responsibility” provisions are in place, it’s time to get ready for the reporting requirements that go into effect in 2015.
Tags: cobra coverage, individual mandate, affordable care act, minimal essential coverage, share responsibility penalty, ACA reporting requirements
Although it’s still over three years away, the implementation of the “Cadillac Tax” under the Affordable Care Act already has many employers scrambling to come up with a strategy to avoid it – or at least soften the blow.
While many employers might be “in the groove” of ACA compliance by now, this is no time to get complacent. There are more changes coming just around the corner in 2015 for those who sponsor group health plans.
Tags: benefits administration, ACA compliance, affordable care act compliance, COBRA solutions
COBRA CONUNDRUMS is reprinted from the July 2014 issue of Health Insurance Underwriter Magazine featuring our very own Robert Meyers.
Tags: cobra conundrums, cobra coverage, preexisting conditions
Remember why the Affordable Care Act (ACA) exists? One of its basic goals was to define a minimum standard for the benefits consumers receive when they sign up for health insurance. The intent is good, but it turns out there’s a problem. The online calculator that employers can use to determine if their plans meet ACA standards apparently has a glitch.
Tags: benefits administration, affordable care act, health insurance
Here’s another insightful Affordable Care Act update from our friend Jason M. Cogdill, Corporate Counsel & Benefits Attorney at ProBenefits, Inc.
Tags: employer mandate, Affordable Care Act update, aca update, benefits administration, group benefits
Consumers are finally getting the hang of Health Savings Accounts.
Tags: HSAs and COBRA administration, how COBRA works with HSAs, health savings accounts and COBRA administration
Communicating effectively with your employees can be a challenge any time of the year. But if there’s one time your communication needs to be crystal clear and hitting the mark, it’s during annual open enrollment for healthcare benefits.
Tags: benefits administration, hr best practices, open enrollment communication, enrollment communication strategy
If you want to hear an employer sing the blues, bring up the topic of COBRA billing and collection. It’s a task that eats up precious time, and it can be a real challenge. No employer likes to be the “bad guy” when it comes to enforcing grace periods or terminating coverage when payments are missed. Nevertheless, billing and collection are just part of the gig when it comes to administering COBRA. So if you aren’t outsourcing the task, it’s important to make the process as efficient and painless as possible.
Tags: cobra administration, COBRA collection, COBRA qualifying event, COBRA notification, COBRA best practices
