Tag Archives: healthcare

Get Informed on Rising Health Care Costs

Association Based Health Insurance – A Cure For Small Group?

Under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), employers that do not meet the 50 or more full-time or full-time equivalent employee threshold to be Applicable Large Employers (ALEs), are not required to offer health coverage. Nor do they face penalties. Not surprisingly, as a result, smaller businesses often do not offer coverage.

New regulations proposed by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) want to change that dynamic. And in a thriving economy, where unemployment means retention is key, health insurance is a key driver in employee acquisition and retention.

Up to 11 million Americans working for small businesses or who are sole proprietors and their families lack employer-sponsored insurance. The DOL hopes new rules on HOW healthcare plans are purchased will close the gap of uninsured Americans; without eliminating options available in the healthcare marketplace.

New Rules

The proposed regulations will allow small business health plans—known as Association Health Plans (AHP)—to expand under The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). This may allow the self-employed and other small businesses to band together to form their own associations for the purposes of providing healthcare coverage.

AHPs would be required to accept all applicants and could not deny individuals with pre-existing conditions or charge more for people who are sick. However, they could reduce prescription drug coverage and increase coverage in other categories to compensate for the reduction, the effect of which would be to increase costs for chronic care patients.

The employer members of these plans would need to be in the same trade, industry, line of business, profession, or to have their principal place of business in the same state, or, if in multiple states, in the same metropolitan area.

Under the current regulations, an AHP is considered a single plan only if the association has a purpose or function unrelated to offering healthcare benefits and the employer members have a common economic interest. So, few options exist and all have to comply with the ACA’s “essential benefit rules”.

The end result of these new rules, or so the thinking goes, is that this will make premiums more affordable. The trade-off is that these health insurance plans would be less extensive then what is usually required by health insurance plans offered by the current marketplace. Lots of review and legislation await the proposed offering of new association plans. However, they offer a glimmer of home to the problem of rising health insurance costs.

The Uncertainty of Googling HR Issues

Why Googling HR Issues Is A Bad Idea:

In a recent conversation with a client, we spoke of employees having access to the internet. We both agreed that this can be a blessing or a curse depending on the day of the week in the HR world. Prior to working with CorpStart HR, this client said their company handled information on employment laws and other topics one of two ways:

Googling it themselves, or
Calling an attorney.

Calling their attorney was often a good experience. As a trusted advisor with extensive knowledge of their business, they knew they could trust the information being provided. At times this became cost prohibitive so they would Google the issue. This resulted in a mixed bag of opinions with a sprinkle of the law depending on the subject.

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Success and Preparation Go Hand In Hand

What is the greatest exposure for most business owners? Failing to plan.

Lots of business owners wake up at 2:00 am, worried and fearful, unable to go back to sleep, because they are consumed with the challenges facing their business and their families: What happens if I get sick? What happens if I can’t meet overhead? If my largest client goes out of business? If something, happens to my partner, wife, child or a parent? How will I retire? Who will succeed my business? If my lead-sales person leaves? Do I have a backup plan? The list goes on and on, right??

It takes a lifetime to build a business and it takes a moment for it to fall apart. According to Success Harbor and the U.S. Census Bureau, 400,000 new businesses are started every year in the USA, but 470,000 are dying and around half of all businesses no longer exist after five years. Only one-third make it past their tenth anniversary

All it takes is an unexpected death, an unforeseen illness, or a key personnel departure. Business owners must understand the possibilities, prepare for the risks, and plan for their continuity and succession. Protecting the business means protecting the families that depend on your business. The financial stability is interconnected. We understand this because we live it ourselves.

Are You Prepared?

We don’t have to look far to see the challenges that business owners face. Entrepreneurs face these dilemmas each day and we see family members get sick, become dependents, consume assets and increase the pressure. Success and preparation go hand in hand, and things move quickly in the world these days.

As insurance brokers and advisors, we regularly council with professionals – asking the challenging questions, and provoking dialogues into uncomfortable spaces between wants, needs and priorities. We are the catalyst for business succession, key man retention, insurance planning, and retirement focus. We prompt referrals to our network of professionals and engage your advisors to help you identify and achieve your goals.

Something keeping you up at night, staring at the ceiling? Likely, it’s in our zone of comfort. Comment below or call and let’s have a conversation about the things and people you care most about.

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How To Evaluate The Right Benefits Broker: 6 Important Questions To Ask Yourself

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Choosing the right broker can be a daunting task. While all benefits brokers have access to the same carriers and rates, there are value-added services that a skilled benefits broker will also provide; usually at little, or no additional cost. It’s important to take the time to find the right benefits broker for your company’s needs.

To get the most out of your broker partnership, ask yourself these 6 important questions:

1.) Are you up-to-date on the latest health care reform regulations, receive guidance and the latest developments?

Compliance concerns continue to increase for businesses. Between ERISA and payroll taxes, maintaining compliance is becoming more difficult and frustrating for companies. Here, a benefits broker can become the compliance officer for its clients.

2.) Do you have support during your open enrollment that includes educational materials, meetings, and other communications?

There is a lot that can go wrong during open enrollment periods and things can get hectic, especially in the coming years as health care reform and political turmoil spiral. Benefit brokers are there to help guide you through the process to make as seamless as possible.

3.) Who do you call when you’re faced with a complex question from a former employee about COBRA coverage?

Sure, you can try calling the U.S. Labor Department or the Internal Revenue Service office, but the most effective way to handle their questions, would be to consider calling upon insurance brokers. These skilled and certified professionals will eliminate the painful task of navigating COBRA coverage for existing and former employees.

4.) Do you know how other companies of your size and demographics are providing benefits to their employees so that you can remain competitive?

In many cases, employers must offer health care in order to remain competitive with other businesses for the most talented employees and avoid fines imposed by health care reform. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act requires employers with 50 or more full-time employees to offer adequate health coverage or be subject to assessment if their employees receive premium tax credits to purchase their own insurance.

5.) Are you aware of voluntary and workplace benefits that you can offer without adding significant cost on your end?

Be strategic about cost saving voluntary benefits. Voluntary benefits have long been a relatively simple and inexpensive way to expand the benefits a company can offer employees. With out-of-pocket medical costs growing into the tens of thousands of dollars, voluntary benefits can extend this type of financial protection to health care.

6.) How do you educate employees about how to make the most out of their benefits and do you have an online platform to access?

Education, especially when it comes to ones’ health is especially important. By explaining and guiding your employees on the different benefit plans offered, it can help them appreciate having access to coverage in the first place. But to really help employees feel comfortable with their benefit plans, we strongly suggest providing ongoing and consistent education throughout the year.

The above is only a sliver of the value-added services your benefits broker should offer. If your current broker isn’t providing all the above, feel free to reach out to us. We’re a full-service brokerage firm offering insurance, technology, and compliance solutions for all facets of your business

Ask us how you can spend less time on the broadening workload of benefits enrollment, payroll, & compliance and more time on growing your business. Contact us today, or learn more about CorpStrat HR and CorpStrat Payroll.

Stay Prepared And Compliant

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Compliance News March 2018

This year is off to a great start for Team CorpStrat! Our newest division CorpStart HR is growing by leaps and bounds. We work diligently to create 21st Century HR for our clients and hope this monthly newsletter helps you keep current with the ever-changing HR compliance laws and HR best practices so that you can be a “best place to work.”

We have a LOT of important compliance issues to cover. Workplace injuries, Department of Industrial Relations required notifications, ACA compliance and much more. Hope you didn’t forget to post your OSHA 300A Summary Form. If so, you still have time to get compliant. Visit https://www.osha.gov/recordkeeping, print, complete, and post.

If 2018 is the year you’d like to get your HR house in order, it’s not too late to give us a call. Just send us a note if you’d like to have a conversation. We’d be happy to partner with you and help you stay compliant. In the meantime, Like us on Facebook and join our newsletter for all things HR.

Are you prepared to navigate workplace injuries?

You get that call that an employee has injured themselves and you go straight into 911 mode. Workers Compensation, medical leave, ADA compliance and not to mention safety protocols flood your mind. While no situation is the same, there are a number of things you can do to make life easier.

Know and understand the leave of absences you are required to provide and how they interact with workers compensation.
Notify OSHA when required. For deaths, OSHA must be notified within 8 hours, hospitalizations, 24 hours. Failure to know and understand the rules and regulations leads to inspections and heavy fines.
Planned Medical Care. Have a concrete workers compensation program that outlines issues like, handling transportation of the employee, healthcare facility, notification of the injury, etc.
Investigate the injury. Have solid tools for investigating an incident thoroughly, as you will need to forward any and all information to the carrier and potential legal counsel.
American Disability Act. If an employee is able to return to work with modified restrictions this would likely fall under ADA regulations. At this point, you would need to provide a reasonable accommodation. Failure to do so could result in EEOC charges, ADA lawsuits, or even retaliation claims.
Review and update your policies often. Proactive measures save time and money in the long run.

Federal Immigration Notification

As mentioned last month, Immigration Enforcement has been updated regarding I-9 inspections of records. Under AB450, the Department of Industrial Relations has released the attached notice that complies with the new law’s notice requirements. If an employer’s I-9 forms are going to be inspected, the following notice must be posted within 72 hours of learning of the inspection. Because the timeframe is so short, it is recommended employers have an established process to respond to Notice of Inspections and avoid penalties up to $10,000 per violation.

2018 I-9 Inspection Notice Notification

Benefits: Complying with ACA Affordability Test

With the reduction for employers in affordability levels in company-sponsored plans from 9.69% to 9.56%, employers should ensure they are providing health coverage that will not cost the employee more than 9.56% of an employee’s salary. As increases in premium occur, this can put some of your employees into an unaffordable designation.

Testing?

The IRS created affordability tests to show that the employer has provided coverage that is considered “affordable” and therefore should not be subject to any fines if an employee manages to get coverage on an exchange and receive a premium tax credit to do so.

These tests set out in the final shared responsibility regulations, provide that employer coverage will be considered affordable for purposes of the employer shared responsibility assessment if the required employee contribution for the lowest-cost option offered does not exceed 9.56% of one of the following:

W-2 – The employee’s wages for the calendar year reported on the Form W-2.
The rate of pay – The amount obtained by multiplying 130 hours by the lower of the employee’s hourly rate of pay as of the first day of the coverage period or lowest rate of pay during the calendar month.
Federal poverty line – An amount equal to the federal poverty line for a single individual, divided by 12. Under the FPL safe harbor, employers use the FPL in effect six months prior to the beginning of the plan year to allow time to establish premium amounts in advance of the plan’s open enrollment period.

The affordability test reduction affects employers who use the W-2 and the rate-of-pay tests. In both cases, you may need to reduce the employee contribution rate for single coverage in your lowest-cost plan.

Top 5 Mistakes that cost employers BIG BUCKS

Daily we see employers pay hefty fines to government agencies for payroll violations that are completely avoidable. Knowing and understanding how these 5 payroll liabilities affect you legally will save you tens of thousands of dollars.

1 – Garnishments and Child Support – Employers are responsible for knowing the proper ways to record wage garnishments/child support, federal and state new hire requirements, responding to wage orders, and forwarding the information to the employee.

2 – Sick Pay Classification – As a reminder, California has sick pay requirements that must be reflective on an employee’s paystubs. If you offer PTO, it must be reflective on the paystub to meet the new requirement.

3 – Employee verse 1099 Contractor – Generally the burden is on the employer to prove the classification of any individual was correct. Using the IRS Independent Contractor test and having a concrete Independent Contractors Agreement that addresses, invoicing, use of time, terms/cancelation notice, the scope of service, ownership of property, proof of insurance, etc. will help you build safeguards and protections in case of an audit.

4 – Exempt verse Non-exempt – One of the chief differences between exempt and non-exempt employees is in how the employee is paid. Exempt employees do not qualify for overtime. To qualify for an exemption under the FLSA, employees generally must meet certain tests regarding their job duties and be paid on a salary basis no less than $455 per week. Job titles do not determine exempt status. In order for the exemption to apply, an employee’s specific job duties and salary must meet all the requirements.

5 – Overtime Rules – Many employers get tripped up unintentionally by confusing pay period hours with work week hours. Overtime for non-exempt hourly employees must be calculated based on a specific 7 day period of time regardless of how frequently the employees are paid. Employers that pay piecemeal must ensure they are meeting minimum wage requirements as well when factoring overtime in addition to other factors.

We succeed because our clients succeed and are always here to help.