October 8, 2019
How to Take your 2020 Benefit Change Rollout to the Next Level
With open enrollment right around the corner, employers are faced with the annual question: how are we going to get employees engaged while helping them make the smartest benefit decisions for their individual situations? This year, instead of plain old printouts and email, try a new method. ...
October 4, 2019
Compliance Recap | September 2019
September was a busy month in the employee benefits world. The U.S. Senate confirmed Eugene Scalia as the new Secretary of the Department of Labor (DOL). The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) published proposed rules regarding affordability safe harbors and Section 105(h) nondiscrimination rules ...
September 24, 2019
Self Funding | 2019 UBA Health Plan Survey Trends
Historically, self-funding has been most attractive to the large group market, with approximately 60% of these groups choosing to self-fund, a number that has remained virtually flat over the last five years. Similarly, in the middle market (100-499 employees), approximately 30% of employers ...
September 24, 2019
Expansion of the Remote Workforce
According to one Cision study, more than 50% of the working works from home at least half of the week. Remote work is exploding in popularity, expanding by 91% over the last ten years and 159% over the last 12 years. Thanks to ever-evolving digital and cloud-based technology, employees can ...
September 24, 2019
Fighting Unconscious Bias In the Workplace
We are all familiar with overt biases in the workplace. From off-color jokes to discriminatory hiring practices, the experience of conscious bias is an unfortunate reality for many women and men at all levels of corporate hierarchy. But what about unconscious bias? These are the covert thoughts ...
September 24, 2019
Addressing Marijuana Usage and Testing
Recreational cannabis legalization is rolling out across the United States, and many employers are faced with a big, hazy question: how should they address drug testing in the workplace? Eleven states have legalized recreational marijuana and 33 others have legalized medical marijuana. ...
September 23, 2019
Incentivizing Corporate Wellness
Nearly every large employer offers some type of wellness program, but if your team feels you’ve “been there, done that,” maybe it’s time to revisit your definition of wellness. With the expansion of mindfulness, meditation, and yoga in the west, modern wellness applications are so much more ...
September 20, 2019
Advocacy in Action | Requiring Proof for Denied Claims
A member contacted her Patient Advocate for help with 4 bills being denied by the insurance carrier as not covered under the plan. The Patient Advocate reviewed the bills and plan details and then contacted the insurance carrier to find out why they were denying coverage. The carrier told the ...
September 17, 2019
Costs by Organization Size | 2019 UBA Health Plan Survey Trends
Generally, larger groups (those with 200 to 1,000+ employees) pay more than average per employee due to more generous benefit levels. After experiencing a stunning 9.6% increase last year, employers with 1,000+ employees were able to more characteristically negotiate better rates this year, ...
September 13, 2019
Final FAQs, Model Disclosure Form, and Enforcement Fact Sheet Regarding Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Parity
The U.S. Departments of Labor (DOL), Health and Human Services (HHS), and the Treasury (collectively, the “Departments”) released final FAQs About Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Parity Implementation and the 21st Century Cures Act Part 39. The Departments respond to FAQs as part of ...
