Insurance

Abortion excluded from 10% of employee coverage

05/19/2020

Ten percent of workers are employed by an organization that has asked their insurer or third-party administrator to exclude abortion coverage from their health plan, according to research by the Kaiser Family Foundation.

COBRA compliance, notice deadlines extended

05/07/2020

Because employers may be working with skeleton staffs, some of the necessary paperwork associated with coronavirus-related terminations may have slipped through the cracks. The federal government has extended several deadlines so employers can catch up.

Final regs delay health & 401(k) plan deadlines

05/06/2020

Final regulations and a separate disaster relief notice from the Department of Labor set up an outbreak period—running from March 1, 2020, until 60 days after the announced end of the coronavirus national emergency—that plans must ignore for purposes of employees’ health plan elections and 401(k) plans’ responsibility to provide notices to participants.

Coronavirus could actually cut employer health costs

05/05/2020

COVID-19 could reduce employer health care costs by as much as 4% in 2020, as medical care for noninfected patients has declined during the pandemic, according to a Willis Towers Watson analysis of large, self-funded employers, released May 1.

Employers broadening their health and well-being efforts

04/21/2020

Employers are broadening their efforts to help their workers cope with COVID-19 while at the same time preparing for an eventual return to a stable workplace, according to a survey conducted March 30 by the Willis Towers Watson consulting firm.

Almost 10 million lost health benefits in just one month

04/21/2020

An estimated 9.2 million workers probably lost their employer-provided health insurance in the four weeks between March 15 and April 15, according to an analysis by the nonprofit Economic Policy Institute,

Pay, benefits adapt to coronavirus pressures

04/14/2020

Results of the “WorldatWork COVID-19 Employer Response Survey” provide a window into how organizations are addressing compensation and benefits issues.

Forecast: 2021 health insurance costs to spike

04/09/2020

Even in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, health care industry experts are already talking about significant increases in health insurance costs for 2021.

5 management strategies to cut UI expenses

04/07/2020

The coronavirus, which rampaged through the economy like wildfire, has everyone focused on unemployment benefits. To secure the lowest contribution rate possible, you’re going to need to keep extraneous benefits charges off your state unemployment account. There are five strategies every manager can implement right now.

DOL paves way for unemployment benefits

03/26/2020

Enhanced unemployment insurance benefits are a centerpiece of the mammoth $2 trillion coronavirus stimulus legislation that Congress and the White House negotiated the week of March 23. Details were still being hashed out at press time, including “unemployment compensation on steroids,” according to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.