Posts by: Susan

A key provision of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is the “individual mandate,” which requires most individuals to purchase health insurance coverage or pay a penalty.

What is the individual mandate?

Beginning in 2014, the ACA requires most individuals to obtain acceptable health insurance coverage for themselves and their family members or pay [...]

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The Affordable Care Act (ACA), which was signed into law in March 2010, put in place comprehensive health coverage reforms with effective dates spread out over a period of four years and beyond. Some of ACA’s reforms are already in effect for employers and their group health plans, such as the Form W-2 [...]

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Many employers provide employees with employer paid group term life insurance benefits and/or allow employees to purchase group term life insurance benefits. This post answers many common questions regarding group term life insurance benefits.

Must the cost of employer paid group term life insurance be included in an employee’s gross income?

Pursuant to Internal Revenue [...]

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All group medical benefit plans fall into one of two categories: self-funded or insured. The choice of one over the other should not be made arbitrarily. Each type carries its own set of administrative rules and legal constraints.

What is Self-Funding?

Under an insured health benefit plan, an insurance company assumes the [...]

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The Affordable Care Act is a federal law, which means that federal agencies, namely the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services and the Treasury, are primarily responsible for the law’s overall enforcement. However, ACA also creates significant responsibilities for state governments. A number of ACA’s key health care reforms will be carried out at the [...]

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You have probably heard of the significant benefits associated with workplace wellness programs; perhaps you have even implemented one in your organization. What many employers (and others) don’t realize is that financial wellness is just as important as physical wellness. In fact, employees who struggle from financial trouble are often more likely to have [...]

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The health care reform law—the  Affordable Care Act (ACA)—has many complex requirements for employers and health plans. Many employers are starting to focus more attention on the ACA’s rules and, as a result, have more questions than ever.

This Health Care Reform Toolkit is your one-stop guide for upcoming health care reform concerns. It [...]

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The health care reform law, the Affordable Care Act (ACA), has many complex requirements for employers and health plans. Many employers are starting to focus more attention on the ACA’s rules and, as a result, have more questions than ever.
This Health Care Reform Toolkit is your one-stop guide for upcoming health [...]

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The Affordable Care Act (ACA) imposes different requirements on employers based on whether they qualify as a “large employer” or a “small employer.” However, the health care reform law doesn’t use a consistent definition for these terms. As a result, an employer may be considered a small employer for one rule but a [...]

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