Benefit plan design

Small businesses are poised to benefit from the Small Business Health Options Program but more education for small-business owners is needed, says an industry group supportive of the Affordable Care Act.

The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has announced training and registration dates, along with requirements, for benefit advisers and brokers who want to enroll small business employers on the federally facilitated SHOP exchange.

Benefit insiders predict a steep decline in small business group health insurance sales in the coming years, which could prove harmful for many independent brokers and agents.

The IRS this month clarified for benefit advisers and their clients that employers cannot escape ACA penalties and taxes via pre-tax premium reimbursement plans.

Evidence shows that more insurers bring down premiums on the ACA exchanges, which could ease conversations benefit brokers have with the uninsured about affordability of coverage.

The Internal Revenue Service has threatened employers with Affordable Care Act penalties of $36,500 per employee, per year, nondeductible. Makes those $2,000 and $3,000 penalties look like small potatoes, right?

In follow-up to two broker-friendly bills introduced in late March, a group of five U.S. Democratic senators are asking the agency again for changes that will help ACA-certified agents better enroll consumers.

Individuals could pay more than twice as much for prescription drugs with certain exchange plans, as employers that provide health coverage gain another asset to leverage.

Everyone understands that advertising helps sell products and that was the top way to sell health plans through the public exchanges. But looking back on the first open enrollment, which advertising techniques worked and what lessons were learned to raise the number of enrollees further for 2015?

Supplemental benefit SurgeryPlus is a new product offering for advisers, especially those who work with self-funded clients.

The breakdown of states running their own health insurance exchanges versus those using the federally facilitated marketplace will change in due time – but exactly how it will change is still up in the air, said a speaker at Wednesday’s National Health Insurance Exchange Summit, held in Washington, D.C.

The concept of limiting coverage of spouses through the implementation of a surcharge or waiver program has been talked about for years. This is a microcosm of the employee benefits environment where employers are considering every possible cost-control strategy.

Insurer groups this week shared ACA reform ideas with Congress, including the creation of a copper plan.

Knowing how many companies your client owns is critical to meeting ACA compliance. Here’s what you need to know about your clients that own more than one company under a controlled group.

Members of Congress came out swinging Wednesday at a committee hearing with top insurers called as witnesses to determine whom of the more than 8 million Obamacare enrollees have paid their first month’s premium.

Employers remain unclear about the benefits and drawbacks of switching their health plans to a private exchange, but the majority of those that will evaluate exchange vendors in the future plan to seek guidance from a benefit adviser.

Obamacare reduced the percentage of U.S. adults without health insurance to its lowest point since 2008 even as the law remains unpopular with the public, separate surveys showed.

This insurance rule, referring to the grouping of companies owned by the same person, hasn’t applied to medical coverage until now. One broker is concerned that benefit advisers and small business owners alike aren’t up to speed on this requirement and could be vulnerable to liabilities via penalties and lawsuits.

Many employers have yet to update their work policies to reflect the 90-day waiting period rule, a possible landmine for employee confusion and lawsuits.

Higher consumer spending on health services, increased prescriptions for costly medications and more elective surgeries suggests Americans are using the insurance they gained under Obamacare.