Healthcare reform

ADA, ACA and DOMA are all expected to affect FMLA compliance.

The political climate has become so volatile in Washington that working with Congress is becoming an ever-more difficult task, said the head of the National Association of Health Underwriters at a recent conference.

There are many things in life that are out of our control. We can complain, muse, become paralyzed - or we can choose to find and capitalize on the opportunity. What comes to mind is the Affordable Care Act and the concern, worry and anxiety that it has created for many.

Employee benefits lawyers analyze the new health care reform rules, including the five requirements all wellness programs must have.

The Departments of Labor, Treasury and Health and Human Services issued what are being called final rules on employment-based wellness programs, and advocacy groups immediately weighed in on the changes, which were required under the Affordable Care Act.

Businesses in the U.S. won more freedom to charge higher insurance premiums to workers who don’t meet health goals, or reward those who shape up, under rules released by the Obama administration.

With the ongoing shift in the business spurred by health reform, change itself is not enough to survive, said the head of a networking organization for independent benefit brokerages and consulting firms Wednesday in New Orleans.

While politicians in Washington argue over the Affordable Care Act, its ultimate fate is being decided far from Capitol Hill.

Craig Davidson on how cutting employee hours due to health reform may infringe upon federal law.

Jack Kwicien on how brokers can monetize relationships they already have by unveiling a new action plan.

Nelson Griswold on how brokers need to move from transactional to consultative selling due to changes brought upon by the Affordable Care Act.

Health care reform applies nondiscrimination testing to all group health plans, including fully insured ones. The problem is that planning with the rules currently in place is like trying to build a skyscraper on a piece of swampland in the Florida Everglades.

With health care appeals, a plan administrator can simply grant the appeal .

Two businesses, a construction firm from southwestern Illinois and an auto-parts maker in southeastern Indiana, are scheduled today to ask the U.S. Court of Appeals in Chicago for an order barring enforcement.

Jeffrey Endick, principal at Slevin & Hart, P.C., warned employers at the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans on Tuesday in Washington about how they should prepare for exchanges as an alternative to the current system.

The U.S. health care law’s projected tax bite on businesses with more generous health benefits is dropping as medical spending slows and employers look to rein in the cost of coverage.

Yesterday Groom Law Group’s Mark Nielsen addressed the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans’ Washington legislative update, saying health reform watchers are still hoping for “more and better guidance” on ACA rules and standards.

As the U.S. Senate works to rewrite immigration policy, the House of Representatives is spending floor time on legislation that won’t become law, voting today to repeal President Barack Obama’s 2010 Affordable Care Act.

In a second round of funding under the ACA, CMS opens a big opportunity for researchers.

The health agency said last week that Sebelius had been calling advocacy groups, doctors, churches and “companies not regulated by HHS” since March, asking for contributions to an independent nonprofit group promoting the health law.