As employers who sponsor group health plans well know, health care reform prevents plans from imposing waiting periods in excess of 90 days for employees who are otherwise eligible to enroll in a plan. The latest guidance relating to the waiting-period rules addresses the boundaries of “reasonable and bona …
Pay-or-Play: Think Globally
June 9, 2014 Leave a Comment
With the effective date of the “pay-or-play” employer mandate just over the horizon, employers who sponsor group health plans are well aware of the layers of complexity presented by the mandate. One of the layers that employers should be sure to unpack: how do the rules affect expatriate (expat) and …
More Details Emerge on Transitional Reinsurance Fee
April 4, 2014 Leave a Comment
The latest final regulations on the transitional reinsurance fee provide some clarity for plan sponsors. As a reminder, the transitional reinsurance program requires self-insured group health plans and health insurance issuers to pay per-enrollee fees each year beginning in 2014. 2014 Fee Amount: As we …
Don’t Forget: Emergency Room Rules Under Health Care Reform
March 7, 2014 Leave a Comment
Health care reform’s rules on emergency services have been in effect since 2011, but group health plan sponsors would do well to keep them top-of-mind when crafting initiatives to promote proper emergency room usage. To review, the rules on emergency services apply to non-grandfathered, self-insured group …
New Guidance on Employee Notice of Exchanges
May 9, 2013 Leave a Comment
On May 8, the DOL issued eagerly anticipated guidance regarding the notice of health insurance exchanges that employers must distribute to employees during 2013, including model notices that employers may use to satisfy the notice obligation. The first model notice applies to employers who offer a health plan …
Final Regulations on Transitional Reinsurance Program Fees
April 18, 2013 Leave a Comment
Starting in 2014, the new transitional reinsurance program will require self-insured group health plans and health insurance issuers to pay per-enrollee fees each year for three years. In March, the Department of Health and Human Services released final regulations that confirm a number of important details …