By Danielle Capilla, Chief Compliance Officer at United Benefit Advisors The Supreme Court has granted the petition in Gobeille v. Liberty Mutual Insurance Company, a case centered on the issue of whether the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) preempts Vermont’s health care database law as it was applied to a third-party administrator […]
By Danielle Capilla, Chief Compliance Officer at United Benefit Advisors Cafeteria plans, or plans governed by IRS Code Section 125, allow employers to help employees pay for expenses such as health insurance with pre-tax dollars. Employees are given a choice between a taxable benefit (cash) and two or more specified pre-tax qualified benefits, for example, […]
By Bill Olson, Chief Marketing Officer at United Benefit Advisors More and more employers—especially mid to large size groups—are considering different types of self-insured financing mechanisms. UBA Partners are at the forefront of helping employers understand their options, and as a group of independent advisors bound by a code of conduct to actively cultivate, validate […]
By Bill Olson, Chief Marketing Officer at United Benefit Advisors As the saying goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, and that’s definitely the case when it comes to a health plan audit by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). And prevention is certainly warranted, according to Jeff Hadden, Partner at […]
By Danielle Capilla, Chief Compliance Officer at United Benefit Advisors In Benefit and Payment Parameters for 2016 Final Rule issued in February 2015, federal agencies included a clarification that the annual cost-sharing limitations for self coverage apply to individuals, regardless of individual is covered by self-only plan or is covered by another kind of plan. […]
By Jennifer Kupper The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) specifically encourages and promotes the expansion of wellness programs in both the individual and group markets. In the individual market, the secretaries of the departments of Health and Human Services (HHS), Treasury, and Labor are directed to establish a pilot program to test the […]
By Bill Olson, Chief Marketing Officer at United Benefit Advisors Employer health savings account (HSA) funding strategies have changed in recent years in response to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) and its impact on employer-sponsored health insurance plans. Employers are contributing less, on average, to HSAs and the increase in popularity of […]
By Linda Rowings, Chief Compliance Officer at United Benefit Advisors Recently, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Department of Health and Human Services issued a Final Rule with standards for insurers and Marketplaces in 2016, covering topics such as transparency in health insurance rate increases, formulary drug lists, drug mail order opt […]
Posted by: Bill Olson United Benefit Advisors Health Plan Survey Finds Higher HSA Contributions Correlates to Increased Enrollment in High Deductible Health Plans In 2014, employees saw a 10 percent decrease in their average single Health Savings Account (HSA) employer contribution from the previous year, from $574 in 2013 to $515 in 2014, according […]
By Linda Rowings, Chief Compliance Officer at United Benefit Advisors On February 18, 2015, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued Notice 2015-17. This Notice addresses employer payment or reimbursement of individual premiums in light of the requirements of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). For many years, employers were permitted to reimburse premiums […]