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Insurance

What are the rules for flexible spending accounts under the new health reform law?

08/18/2010
Q. How do the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 and the Health Care and Education Tax Credits Reconciliation Act of 2010 (collectively known as the PPACA) affect health flexible spending accounts?

Does your wellness program clash with new genetic bias law?

08/17/2010
Approximately 70% of employers sponsor wellness programs designed to drive down health care costs, reduce absenteeism and promote better employee health. But now, the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act has muddied the wellness waters. Learn how to comply while still offering incentives for employees to participate in your wellness program.

Understanding the new ‘grandfathering’ rules

08/13/2010
Group health plans that were in effect when the health care reform law was signed can earn “grandfather” status. That means they only have to comply with some of the market reforms. But employers can lose grandfather status if they change insurance carriers or “substantially increase” out-of-pocket costs for employees. Here are seven changes that could imperil grandfathered status.

Feds will go easy on health-law mistakes–for now

08/09/2010
The regulations explaining the new health care reform law have begun to roll out of Washington. Michael Aitken, SHRM’s director of government affairs, says employers will make mistakes but the IRS, Department of Labor and HHS are expected to be understanding—at least for a while.

Employers: Schedule a health reform checkup

08/04/2010
Health plan decisions that employers will be forced to make in a few years—such as whether to keep coverage or drop it and pay a fine—will be influenced by decisions you’ll make this year and next, says Michael Aitken, SHRM’s director of government affairs. “It might be a wise investment right now to sit down and do some modeling.”

8 ways to trigger wellness participation

08/03/2010
Many factors determine whether workers use their health and wellness benefits—everything from incentives you offer to how much staff trusts management to whether employees tell their spouses when they’re sick. Here are eight tips to trigger employee participation in wellness programs.

Use benefits checklist to smooth new-hire onboarding

07/29/2010
New employees have lots on their minds when they first start working. While making the right benefits choices and completing the necessary paperwork is ultimately the employee’s responsibility, HR can give a kick in the pants by providing a checklist like this one.

Quest offers health assessments, follow-up wellness programs

07/29/2010
Quest Diagnostics is helping its workforce stay healthy by offering free health risk assessments and then following up with wellness programs that help employees address potential problems. Last year, 36,000 employees took part after Quest reduced the cost of biweekly medical plan contributions as an incentive.

Wellness programs: Clash between health care reform and GINA

07/27/2010
Approximately 70% of employers sponsor wellness programs designed to drive down health care costs, reduce absenteeism and promote better employee health. Wellness programs that offer premium discounts have long been required to comply with HIPAA. More recently, two other laws muddied the wellness waters: the new health care reform law and the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act.

Keep health costs out of the equation when considering hiring and firing

07/27/2010
Before you even consider firing (or refusing to hire) someone because they might jack up your health insurance costs, count your dollars, not your pennies. You may be staring down a lawsuit that could dwarf whatever premium costs you hoped to avoid.