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Biden Administration Announces Plan to Ban Medical Debt From Credit Scores

On Sept. 21, 2023, the Biden administration announced an initiative that would prevent unpaid medical bills from impacting Americans’ credit scores. If enacted, this regulation could prevent medical debt from lowering consumer credit scores. Low credit scores can make it more difficult to get hired, rent an apartment or receive a loan. This initiative has the potential to impact tens of millions of Americans who have medical debt on their credit reports, making it one of the most significant federal actions to tackle medical debt to date.

An analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that credit reporting—a threat used by hospitals to induce patients to pay their bills—is the most common collection tactic used by hospitals. Additionally, researchers at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) have found that medical debt isn’t an accurate predictor of consumers’ creditworthiness, which undermines the worth of including it in a credit report. Nevertheless, a 2022 report by the CFPB found that medical bills account for about 58% of all uncollected debts reported to consumer credit reporting bureaus.

In 2022, the three largest credit agencies, Equifax, Experian and TransUnion, voluntarily announced that they would no longer include certain medical debt on credit reports, such as debts under $500 and paid-off bills. However, the agencies’ actions excluded millions of patients with larger medical debts on their credit reports, prompting numerous groups, such as the National Consumer Law Center and Community Catalyst, to advocate for further action.

Representatives of the debt collection industry and hospital leaders have argued that, if enacted, such regulations could prevent medical providers from getting their bills paid, which could cause more medical care providers to require upfront payment for care. Furthermore, opponents of the proposed initiative have noted …

By |September 24th, 2023|Broad Reach Benefits, Employee Benefits Adviser|Comments Off on Biden Administration Announces Plan to Ban Medical Debt From Credit Scores
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Legal Update-Upcoming EEO-1 Reporting Deadlines

Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act (Title VII), employers with 100 or more employees and certain federal contractors must submit a report about their workforces to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) by March 31 every year. This report, known as the EEO-1 report, is a federally mandated survey that collects workforce data categorized by race, ethnicity, sex and job category.

However, the collection of this data from 2022 was delayed, and the portal for submitting EEO-1 reports was not even opened before the usual deadline in 2023. Instead, the EEOC announced that it would open the portal for submissions of 2022 EEO-1 information on Oct. 31, 2023.

The EEOC also set the deadline for employers to complete their 2022 EEO-1 Reports. These submissions must be completed by Dec. 5, 2023.

Covered Entities

The following entities are subject to EEO-1 reporting:

  • A private employer that has 100 or more employees (with limited exceptions for schools and other organizations);
  • A private employer with between 15 and 99 employees if it is part of a group of employers that legally constitutes a single enterprise that employs a total of 100 or more employees; and
  • A federal contractor with 50 or more employees, is either a prime contractor or first-tier subcontractor, and has a contract, subcontract or purchase order amounting to $50,000 or more.

Enforcement

Although the EEOC sends notification letters to employers it knows to be subject to the EEO-1 requirements, all employers are responsible for obtaining and submitting the necessary information prior to the appropriate deadline.

An employer that fails or refuses to file an EEO-1 report as required may be compelled to do so by a federal district court. Federal contractors also risk losing their government …

By |September 5th, 2023|Compliance, Employee Communications, Human Resources, Legislation, U.S. Department of Labor|Comments Off on Legal Update-Upcoming EEO-1 Reporting Deadlines
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Open Enrollment 2024 – Health Savings Accounts (HSAs)

Employers who sponsor high deductible health plans (HDHPs) that are compatible with health savings accounts (HSAs) should prepare for open enrollment by:

  • Ensuring that employees understand how HSAs work, including the benefits of opening an HSA; and
  • Updating their HDHP’s design and communicating any plan changes to employees.

There are many advantages to selecting an HDHP/HSA option at open enrollment time—for example, HSAs have three levels of tax savings and HDHPs typically have lower monthly premiums. However, many employees may not be aware of these advantages or understand how the HSA rules apply to them. Employers should help their employees understand key HSA features during the open enrollment process.

In addition, to be compatible with HSAs, HDHPs must comply with IRS limits regarding the plan’s annual deductible and out-of-pocket maximum. The IRS adjusts these limits for inflation each year. Employers should review their plan limits to make sure they comply with the limits for the plan year beginning on or after Jan. 1, 2024.

HDHP Plan Design

To prepare for open enrollment, employers with HDHPs should:

  • Review their plan’s minimum deductible and out-of-pocket maximum limits to ensure they comply with the IRS’ limits for 2024;
  • Review coverage options for telehealth and COVID-19 testing and treatment; and
  • Communicate any plan changes to employees.

Communicating HSA Rules to Employees

As part of the open enrollment process, employers that offer HSA-compatible HDHPs should help their employees understand the benefits of opening an HSA and making tax-free contributions. Employees may be confused about the rules surrounding HSAs and may not realize all the advantages associated with these accounts.

Alera Group can provide sample resources for communicating the HSA rules to employees.

HSA Advantages

Open enrollment is an ideal time for employers to highlight to eligible employees the advantages …

By |August 22nd, 2023|Broad Reach Benefits, Employee Benefits, Employee Benefits Adviser, Employee Communications, Human Resources, Voluntary Benefits|Comments Off on Open Enrollment 2024 – Health Savings Accounts (HSAs)
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Deadline for Employers to Receive 2023 MLR Rebates Is Approaching

Employers with insured group health plans may soon receive a medical loss ratio (MLR) rebate from their health insurance issuers. Issuers who did not meet the applicable MLR percentage for 2022 must provide rebates to plan sponsors by Sept. 30, 2023. These rebates may be in the form of a premium credit or a lump sum payment.

MLR Rules

Employers with insured group health plans may soon receive a medical loss ratio (MLR) rebate from their health insurance issuers. Issuers who did not meet the applicable MLR percentage for 2022 must provide rebates to plan sponsors by Sept. 30, 2023. These rebates may be in the form of a premium credit or a lump sum payment.

Issuers who did not meet their MLR percentage for 2022 must provide rebates by Sept. 30, 2023. As a general rule, an employer who receives a rebate should use it within three months to avoid ERISA’s trust requirement. For rebates received on Sept. 30, 2023, this three-month deadline is Dec. 30, 2023. This deadline should be adjusted for rebates received before Sept. 30, 2023. Employers who receive MLR rebates should also be prepared to answer questions from employees about the rebate and how it is being allocated. The MLR rules require health insurance issuers to spend a minimum percentage of their premium dollars on medical care and health care quality improvement. This percentage is 85% for issuers in the large group market and 80% for issuers in the small and individual group markets. States may set higher MLR standards than the federal 80%/85% thresholds. Issuers must report to the federal government how they spent their premium dollars for each calendar year by July 31 …

By |August 7th, 2023|Broad Reach Benefits, Employee Benefits, Employee Communications, Human Resources|Comments Off on Deadline for Employers to Receive 2023 MLR Rebates Is Approaching
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How Employers Can Manage Talent Debt

The war for talent has been putting stress on many organizations. As employers continue to struggle to retain workers, they must simultaneously deal with talent shortages. As workers resign, there seems to be a lack of qualified candidates to fill open roles. Compounding employers’ labor struggles is the fact that many workers are currently disengaged. According to a 2022 Gallop report, the current level of disengaged workers is the highest in over 10 years. The unique combination of these factors is leading many organizations to accumulate talent debt. If employers don’t prioritize strategies to effectively address their talent debt, their organization’s success and bottom line can be impacted.

What Is Talent Debt?

Talent debt occurs when an employer accumulates outdated or inadequate skills within its organization and workforce. It can deplete an organization’s energy, culture, productivity and resources. Talent debt generally builds similarly to financial or other forms of debt, including when organizations hold onto poor performers or disengaged workers or fail to train and develop their workforce properly.

Causes of Talent Debt

Several factors can contribute to an organization’s accumulation of talent debt, including the following:

  • Lack of training—An employer’s failure to adequately invest in employee training and development can often lead to talent debt. If an organization isn’t providing employees with opportunities to learn and develop their skills, workers’ knowledge and expertise can quickly become outdated.
  • Talent shortages—Shortages of qualified and skilled workers can cause talent debt because they often make it difficult for employers to attract and retain top talent. Failing to hire qualified and skilled employees can easily result in an organization lacking the skills and expertise necessary to remain competitive.
  • Technology changes—Rapid technological advancements can result in some workers’ skills and expertise becoming obsolete. …
By |July 20th, 2023|Broad Reach Benefits|Comments Off on How Employers Can Manage Talent Debt
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Legal Alert- Workplace Wellness Plan Design

Many employers implement wellness plans to encourage healthier lifestyles, reduce absenteeism and help control health care spending.  There are several legal compliance issues that are involved with designing workplace wellness plans. Wellness plans must be carefully structured to comply with both state and federal laws. The three main federal laws that impact the design of wellness plans are:

  • The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA);
  • The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA); and
  • The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA).

These laws each have their own set of legal rules for acceptable wellness program design, which are not always consistent with one another.

This Compliance Overview provides an overview of the requirements for wellness plans under HIPAA, the ADA and GINA. See Page 7 for a chart that compares key wellness plan requirements under these three laws.

HIPAA Requirements

A workplace wellness program that relates to a group health plan must comply with HIPAA’s nondiscrimination rules. HIPAA generally prohibits group health plans from using health factors to discriminate among similarly situated individuals with regard to eligibility, premiums or contributions. However, HIPAA includes a special rule that allows employers to provide incentives or rewards as part of a wellness program, as long as the program follows certain guidelines.

The HIPAA nondiscrimination rules were clarified by the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Under these rules, workplace wellness programs are divided into two general categories: participatory wellness plans and health-contingent wellness plans. This distinction is important because participatory wellness plans are not required to meet the same nondiscrimination standards that apply to health-contingent wellness plans.

Wellness programs that are not part of group health plans (for example, standalone programs that pay health club dues) are NOT subject to …

By |July 6th, 2023|Broad Reach Benefits, Compliance, Employee Benefits, Employee Communications, Human Resources, Voluntary Benefits|Comments Off on Legal Alert- Workplace Wellness Plan Design
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The Differences Between Short- and Long-term Disability Insurance and COBRA

Voluntary benefits are becoming increasingly important to employees as they focus on their physical, mental, social and financial health. As a result, many employers have expanded their voluntary benefits offerings to address employees’ needs and improve their attraction and retention efforts.

Among these offerings are disability benefits, which can provide guaranteed income or job protection to employees who are unable to work due to serious illness or injury. The most common disability benefits are short-term disability (STD) and long-term disability (LTD) insurance. However, understanding the differences between STD and LTD benefits and other laws, such as the Consolidated Omnibus Reconciliation Act (COBRA), can be complicated and difficult for employers to navigate.

This article provides a general overview of STD, LTD and COBRA and explores how both types of disability insurance differ from COBRA.

What Are STD and LTD?

STD and LTD insurance are the most common forms of disability benefits.

Short-term Disability Insurance

STD insurance replaces all or a portion of an employee’s income due to a temporary disability. Under STD plans, employees receive a percentage of their income, typically 40% to 70% of their base pay, but employers can allow employees to supplement their STD benefits with paid sick leave or other benefits. An STD insurance policy is paid either fully or partially by the employer, and the median length of

STD insurance coverage is 26 weeks, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

To qualify for STD insurance, an employee files a claim under their insurance policy. The employee must prove their illness or injury qualifies as a disability under the plan’s terms. STD insurance generally requires employees to wait for a short period—on average, seven days—before they start receiving benefits to discourage abuse and because many …

By |June 19th, 2023|Broad Reach Benefits, Disability, Employee Benefits, Employee Communications, Human Resources, Long Term Disability, Voluntary Benefits|Comments Off on The Differences Between Short- and Long-term Disability Insurance and COBRA
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Unemployment Claims Trend Up, Reach Highest Level Since 2021

During the week ending June 3, 2023, workers filed 261,000 seasonally adjusted new unemployment claims, an increase of 28,000 from the previous week’s revised numbers. This is the highest number of new claims since Oct. 30, 2021. Before last week, initial unemployment claims had plateaued last month.

In May, the unemployment rate increased to 3.7% from 3.4% in April, even though the economy added 339,000 jobs. May’s unemployment rate represents a seven-month high. However, despite the increase in the unemployment rate, it remains low compared to historical data.

The surge in initial unemployment claims was driven by claim spikes in Ohio and California. Unadjusted initial claims in Ohio increased by 6,345 and by 5,173 in California. This claims data includes the Memorial Day holiday; there’s typically increased volatility in claims numbers during public holidays.

The four-week moving average of unemployment claims increased by 7,500 to 237,250. The four-week moving average is considered to be an accurate measure of current labor market trends.

Takeaways

Since the rise in new unemployment claims can be attributed to increases in a handful of states, it’s likely too early to draw conclusions regarding the pace of layoffs throughout the United States. While an increase in initial unemployment claims could signal a jump in layoffs, the recent volatility of weekly unemployment claims makes it difficult to draw any definitive conclusions.

Economists had expected layoffs to increase in 2023 in response to increases in interest rates. However, this has not happened as predicted, as demonstrated by the U.S. economy’s surprisingly strong job growth in May. While the labor market continues to be stronger than previously believed, many experts still believe a mild recession may arrive during the second half of 2023 or early 2024. As these workforce trends …

By |June 12th, 2023|Employee Benefits Adviser, Human Resources|Comments Off on Unemployment Claims Trend Up, Reach Highest Level Since 2021
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What Employers Need to Know About Medicaid Redeterminations

In 2020, the U.S. Congress passed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, requiring states to maintain Medicaid coverage for most enrollees during the public health emergency (PHE). During this period, individuals receiving Medicaid did not have to reapply to remain eligible for benefits. In December 2022, the 2023 Consolidated Appropriations Act was passed, uncoupling Medicaid redeterminations from the PHE and establishing a timeline for states to restart the Medicaid redetermination process. As a result, as many as 15 million Americans may soon no longer be eligible for Medicaid because of redeterminations, according to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services estimates.

Medicaid provides health insurance to millions of eligible Americans with limited income and resources. Each state administers its own Medicaid program, and enrollees must apply annually to qualify for Medicaid benefits. This process is known as redetermination, renewal or recertification. The Medicaid redetermination process helps evaluate whether Medicaid enrollees are eligible for continued health coverage. Eligibility for continued health coverage depends on various factors, including changes in age, disability status, household size and income. States were able to resume annual Medicaid renewals starting April 1, 2023. This means coverage terminations have resumed for Medicaid enrollees who have been redetermined by state agencies as ineligible for Medicaid, resulting in the loss of their health care coverage. The precise date of resuming coverage terminations will vary by state.

A Primer on Stop-loss Contracts

Stop-loss insurance is coverage self-funded employers purchase to manage their health care costs and protect against unexpected or catastrophic claims by establishing a limit for the amount they pay in health claims. This coverage is not a form of medical insurance, and employers can add stop-loss insurance to an existing …

By |May 15th, 2023|Broad Reach Benefits, Employee Benefits, Employee Benefits Adviser, Employee Communications, Human Resources, Medical, Private Health Care Exchange, U.S. Department of Labor, Wellness|Comments Off on What Employers Need to Know About Medicaid Redeterminations
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Attracting New Employees in the Insurance Industry

Attracting talent is more complex than ever—and the insurance industry isn’t immune from today’s labor challenges. It’s time to figure out ways to keep people engaged in current insurance roles and entice new talent to try the industry. When it comes to talent attraction, the most successful employers will be creative and find ways to make the industry appealing and a great place to start a new career and grow professionally. This article explores how employers in the insurance industry can attract new employees.

Understanding Today’s Challenges

Employee attraction is top of mind for many employers in the insurance industry. According to Zywave’s 2023 Employee Benefits Market Pulse Report, attracting, retaining, and developing talent remains a top challenge facing brokers in 2023 (50.28%), which aligns with recent years. However, in older surveys, brokers ranked attraction and retention as the third most pressing employee benefits challenge. Attracting, retaining, and developing talent moved to the top of the list as organizations struggled to fill a record-high number of job openings in 2022. There was a significant gap between the number of job openings and available workers last year, increasing competition among employers to recruit new hires and retain existing employees. As a result, employees gained the advantage in negotiations, with many feeling confident to leave their jobs to find better opportunities (e.g., higher pay, better benefits). While the labor market has shown signs this may be changing, attraction, retention, and talent development remain major concerns for brokers, and these challenges are expected to continue in 2023. 2 These issues are compounded, as the insurance industry will face some of the most significant labor losses as more baby boomers steadily retire and reduce their participation in the labor force. According …

By |April 25th, 2023|Broad Reach Benefits, Employee Benefits, Employee Benefits Adviser, Employee Communications, Human Resources|Comments Off on Attracting New Employees in the Insurance Industry
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