Odds are your clients are struggling with higher insurance costs and worried about incurring any future medical bills. Here’s one option advisors can help them explore: health savings accounts. These accounts, which are offered in combination with high-deductible health insurance plans, provide a unique opportunity for clients to save. Better still, they afford triple tax […]
The Trump Administration issued the Short-Term, Limited-Duration Insurance Final Rule that expands the coverage length of “short-term, limited-duration insurance” policies under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The Final Rule allows individuals to buy short-term insurance policies for coverage periods of up to 12 months — four times the length of the previous three-month cap — […]
The California Supreme Court last week issued an opinion concluding that Starbucks must pay its employees for off-the-clock duties that take several minutes per shift. In issuing its opinion, the Court rejected the coffee giant’s request to invoke a federal wage rule (known as the de minimis doctrine) that excuses employers from paying employees for […]
The Department of Labor in June loosened association health plan regulations, aiming to make it easier for employers to form AHPs and, in turn, make it easier for employers and self-employed individuals to join the resulting AHPs. Before finalizing the AHP regulations, the DOL reports that it received approximately 900 public comments on its initially proposed regulations. […]
A year and a half into Donald Trump’s presidency, the Commander in Chief and his administration have made a strong effort to convert on his campaign promise to alter and even eliminate the Affordable Care Act. We watched a political soap opera play out in 2017 as a Republican House and Senate ultimately failed to […]
We all know that employers do not like uncertainty in their business plans. It makes it hard to develop a strategy and run any business. Since 2010 with the full-throated implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) it is apparent that the one constant during the summer months is that employers spend a tremendous amount […]
Health savings accounts are at the top of the health policy agenda as Congress grapples with how to rein in ever-rising costs. House and Senate committees have held several hearings over the past few months on how to expand HSAs and update the rules, and House on Wednesday just passed two healthcare bills containing a broad array […]
You have a seven-month window to enroll in Part A, which is free and covers hospital services. The enrollment period begins three months before the month you turn 65 and ends three months after your birthday month. You can enroll in Medicare online at SocialSecurity.gov or visit your local Social Security office, even if you’re not ready […]
The Department of Labor recently issued new rules that make it easier for small businesses to join together to create association health plans. With this change, small businesses can form AHPs without having to follow some Affordable Care Act requirements that they previously had to adhere to. Now, in theory, it is easier to create AHPs if […]
The House of Representatives on Wednesday passed two healthcare bills that would expand the use of health savings accounts, a move that, if advanced, could significantly drive higher employee enrollment in high-deductible health plans that feature HSAs. The Restoring Access to Medication and Modernizing Health Savings Accounts Act, or HR 6199, takes several steps to […]
