It’s been recently announced that Equifax Workforce Solutions, a division of Equifax, Inc., has been hired by the Obama administration to verify income for those applying for subsidies within the federal healthcare exchange. This action is believed to be a result of skepticism about basing billions of dollars’ worth of premium subsidies on the honor…
Category: Health Care Reform
A new fee imposed by the Affordable Care Act will be required for some insurance companies and employers starting on July 31, 2013. The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) will be the main beneficiary of the revenue produced by the fee in order to fund their medical research program. One example of PCORI’s projects includes…
The ADP Research Institute recently released a detailed report on employer sponsored healthcare trends spanning 2010-2013. This report is an important benchmark considering the changes to come in 2014 with the implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The extensive report which spans four years is comprised of 175 American companies with 1000+ employees. Feel…
Another possible adjustment to the Affordable Care Act has been announced. The new law allows insurers to charge up to 50% more in premium to a tobacco user than a non-user. (Currently, tobacco premiums can be up to 20% of the user’s premium.) The new law also enacts another regulation on the amount charged, in…
Another important delay was announced last week closely following the report that the employer mandate would be postponed for a year. (Read about the delay of the employer mandate here.) It was originally planned that there would be a verification system in place for people whose reported income differed significantly from what the federal government…
On June 26, 2013, Section 3 of the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) was found to be unconstitutional by the Supreme Court, effective immediately. DOMA went into effect in 1996, and Section 3 contained a statement that marriage is defined as the union of one man and one woman. The implications of this change…
The Obama Administration has decided to delay the enforcement of the employer mandate until 2015. This mandate would have required all employers with greater than 50 full time employees to offer health insurance to all employees working more than 30 hours per week. According to this Washington Post article, “The administration said it would postpone the…
Health care reform has created much uncertainty for employers. Do you know if you are in compliance with the current requirements of the law and are you prepared for 2014? Do you know the financial impact of reform on your bottom line? Do you know the tax impacts? Join us for one of these free seminars where the…
According to a recent Gallup poll, 43% of uninsured Americans report the reason they do not have health insurance is due to the high cost. The Affordable Care Act was designed to lower insurance premiums in order to make coverage accessible to all. It remains to be seen if this will be the case. (Read…
Offered by workplaces, wellness programs are designed to promote healthy lifestyle choices, and lead to more productive lives and better well-being of participants. They are also intended to reduce the cost of health care. The Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Labor and Department of the Treasury together released rules to encourage businesses…