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Group health plan administrators are reminded that Form 5500 must be filed with the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) by the last day of the seventh month after the plan year ends. For calendar-year plans, that due date falls on July 31. Who Must File Form 5500? In general, all group health plans covered by the Employee Retirement […]

From October 1, 2017-May 4, 2018, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) conducted 2,282 Form I-9 audits, up from 1,360 audits from October 1, 2016-September 30, 2017. Given this dramatic increase, employers should take a moment to ensure that their Form I-9 compliance practices meet federal requirements. Businesses that fail to comply with these requirements are subject […]

Employers that sponsor self-insured group health plans, including health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs), should keep in mind the upcoming July 31, 2018 deadline for paying fees that fund the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI). As background, the PCORI was established as part of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to conduct research to evaluate the effectiveness of […]

In Rev. Proc. 2018-34, the IRS released the inflation adjusted amounts for 2019 relevant to determining whether employer-sponsored coverage is “affordable” for purposes of the Affordable Care Act’s (“ACA’s”) employer shared responsibility provisions and premium tax credit program. As shown in the table below, for plan years beginning in 2019, the affordability percentage is 9.86% […]

According to The Gun Violence Archive, 346 mass shootings occurred in 2017, causing the issue to catch the attention of risk managers as more entities scramble to deal with the aftermath, states Caroline McDonald, a writer for Risk Management Magazine. While there are many different insurance products that could potentially provide coverage after a shooting—Workers Compensation, […]

Trying to watch what you eat? Keep an eye on the New Farm Bill drafted by the House. This legislation aims to change organic food regulations, reduce sugar reform, roll back Obama-era school lunch laws and allow higher levels of pesticides on our foods. Check out the article below for the full story. https://www.usnews.com/news/politics/articles/2018-06-27/9-things-in-the-farm-bill-that-affect-almost-every-american Want […]

In Rev. Proc. 2018-30, the IRS released the inflation adjusted amounts for 2019 relevant to HSAs and high deductible health plans (HDHPs). The table below summarizes those adjustments and other applicable limits. *After reducing the cap $50 in Rev. Proc. 2018-18 in March 2018 due to changes made by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, […]

By 2020, the IRS stated that in certain states where the state requires coverage of male sterilization or male contraceptives, men will not be able to contribute to an HSA. This is because the plans that cover these services won’t meet the definition of a High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP). For more information on male sterilization’s […]

On April 23, 2018, the Departments of Labor, Treasury, and Health and Human Services released several pieces of guidance on issues arising under the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 (MHPAEA), including 2017 enforcement actions, guidance on mental health parity implementation, and an action plan for enhanced enforcement in 2018. The guidance includes: Highlights […]