Compliance

Commentary: The Department of Labor's new proposed fiduciary regulations have caused quite a stir in the retirement plan community. A frequently asked question is who, exactly, will be affected, and who won't be.

CMS says it will pay close attention to compliance with agent/broker standards during audits of qualified health plans offered in the FFM in 2015.

Congress members weigh in on the ACA and the current system that regulates the insurance industry at the Big I legislative conference.

Thomson Reuters has introduced a Checkpoint Learning Health Care Reform Certificate Program for tax and accounting professionals.

The DOL this week published its highly anticipated proposed rule to expand the types of retirement advice covered by fiduciary protections. What will that mean for advisers and their employer clients?

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission released a proposed rule today on wellness programs, removing what at least one business group calls a “big cloud” that has been hovering over employers as they struggle to ensure their wellness incentive programs don’t run afoul of the EEOC.

Commentary: ERISA lawyer shares 9 initial reactions to the Department of Labor’s proposed fiduciary definition rule, including how the proposal differs from the DOL’s 2010 effort.

The Small Business Efficiency Act created a certification process for professional employer organizations, an important development for small businesses.

A third of employers say they’ve experienced fines and penalties in the past year because of non-compliance with government regulations, many of which they are simply unaware of. For many, expert advice from benefit advisers could be a real solution.

Employers around the world are pushing free transparency and seeking better investment outcomes for their workers, which is leading to a greater availability of low-cost investment options in employer-sponsored plans.

Commentary: Yes, employers can distribute plan documents electronically, but they must follow the rules, and don’t assume intranet posting is enough — because it is not.

The Securities and Exchange Commission on April 1 announced it had settled an enforcement action over an employer’s use of a restrictive confidentiality agreement.

States should not step in and establish their own exchanges if subsides are ruled illegal on the federal health care marketplace, a recent national study found, but industry experts say that is not the national consensus and point to the wording of poll questions to support the discrepancy.

The federal government has delayed implementing proposed changes to the Affordable Care Act’s Summary of Benefits and Coverage until January 2016.

Sometimes what happens in Vegas doesn’t just stay on the Strip – it blows across the Sagebrush State like a wayward tumbleweed. Case in point: Nevada Health Link enrollees have been reporting mistakes on the 1095-A IRS forms to calculate their premium tax credit on the federally supported state-based HIX.

The decrease in compensation is negligible since the medical loss ratio took effect, study finds, but other industry organizations disagree.

Lawmakers are pushing through several pieces of legislation that encourage better health information technology, especially interoperability, which will help reduce medical errors.

Commentary: While these FMLA changes don’t require any immediate action or changes to employers’ benefit plans, they could serve as a catalyst for federal officials and agencies to further extend their reach into benefits programs, says Sam Fleet.

For many taxpayers, their first introduction to the ACA may be the Form 1095-A that they receive in the mail, and bring with them — or forget to bring with them — to their tax preparer. Many have questions about the form, and state exchange call centers have been inundated with inquiries. Here are top five questions being asked about Form 1095-A.

A federal district court granted a preliminary injunction on Thursday ordering the Department of Labor to postpone the application of a rule that would have extended Family and Medical Leave Act benefits to same-sex married couples even in states that do not recognize same-sex marriage.