Employee Benefits Administration

• Pre-managed care design that increases deductibles and replacing co-pays with co-insurnance. 
• Drugs costs cooled by expansion of generic drug portfolio. High volume drugs such as Lipitor patents expire in 2011.
• COBRA costs expected to level off.  (side note: Congress has introduced an extension of the subsidy, legislation (S. 3548), that would reinstate through 11/30/2010).

• Hospitals and Physicians move costs from Medicare to private payers/employers. This will be the top reason for higher costs.
• Care-provider consolidation.  Private practices will decrease while groups emerge.
• 2011 Stimulus funds will launch electronic hospital records implementations to  avoid 2015 Medicare penalties. This will be a billion dollar invest in to technology.  

The Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division has issued a new interpretation of compensable time for workers changing into or out of protective clothing. This changes the prior interpretation that time employees spend donning and doffing protective clothing was not compensable under the Fair Labor Standards Act. Accordingly, employers must now compensate non-exempt employees for the time they spend changing into or out of protective clothing or equipment “required by law, by the employer, or the nature of the job.”

Management 2000, a Professional Employer Organization with offices in Indianapolis, Indiana, constantly monitors federal and state laws and regulations related to human resources administration. With this information, the HR professionals at Management 2000 provide the human resources help employers need for compliance. Whether the issue involves payroll, benefits or general HR administration, employers can count on Management 2000 for accurate, timely advice. Contact Management 2000 at (317) 549-2000 or at www.management2000.com for more information.

• Significant reduction in benefits
• Increase in coinsurance
• Increase in copay
• Increase to deductibles and out-of-pocket limits
• Employer decrease in contribution
• Modification of overall annual limit
• Modifications in fully-insure policy
   

The Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor and Treasury issued the Interim Final Rules for Group Health Plans and Health Insurance Issuers relating to Dependent Coverage of Children to Age 26. This is what you need to know today.

Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, group health plans that offer dependent coverage for children are required to do so up to the age of 26. Coverage extension applies to plans that begin on or after September 23, 2010. For calendar year plans, the extension must be in place by January 1, 2011.

Along with the change in age, the new law only allows two eligibility requirements:

• Relationship between the participant and child. The definition of ‘child’ is not defined by the regulations. Therefore, plans will continue to define which children will be covered.
• Age of child – mandates coverage until the child attains age 26. 

1. Review current plan to determine compliance.
2. Communicate with vested parties regarding changes and dates.
3. Assess whether plan contribution needs to change (refer to regulations).
4. One-time Special Enrollment Notification – 30 day window.
5. Amend plan documents.
6. Communicate plan changes to participants.

Compliance requirements and guidance from the various government agencies, along with updates from insurance carriers is continuous. Why not consider utilizing the Employee Benefits Management experts of a Small Business PEO to assist. Management 2000 offers PEO Services. Put our Benefits Plan Administration Team to work for you, so you can run a business.

For employers, employee retention and increasing productivity have always been paramount to running a successful business. It became clear as early as 2004, that employee’s work satisfaction is tied in a large part to benefits. More directly, it is benefits linked to their health, work-life balance and financial security.

In 2008, an annual Study of Employee Benefit Trends by MetLife revealed that benefits played a bigger role in employee loyalty than employers realized. In the most recent study (2009), the key message from the study is how to ‘align benefits in a challenging economy.” From the employer standpoint it is cost and employee productivity. For the employee, it’s about financial security and health benefits.

The Study of Employee Benefit Trends: Finds from the National Survey of Employers and Employees, illuminates a surprising link between “benefit programs and employee productivity.” 48% of employers that offered wellness programs reported an increase in employee productivity. Is your Employee Benefits Plan taking you in the right direction?

Although the economy may be showing signs of improvement, employers remain focused on increasing efficiency and holding down costs.  This may include downsizing, eliminating pay raises, and even cutting pay for employees.  While these actions can be justified, employers must be careful.  Top performing employees still need to be rewarded for their efforts and companies must make sure their compensation is in line with what is being offered in their market.  Otherwise, employees might leave and companies can end up spending even more time and money to replace them.   

Management 2000, a PEO in Indianapolis, Indiana and Dayton, Ohio helps employers develop an HR strategy to recruit and retain quality employees.  From human resource policies, to employee benefits, to payroll services, Management 2000 provides the HR support employers need to be successful. 
 

• Tobacco free
• Food choices
• Workplace stress
• Physical activity

Payroll errors can be costly. Last month, a petroleum company in New Jersey entered into a settlement agreement under which it will pay $4 million in overtime pay, damages, interest, and penalties to more than 700 current and former employees. According to the Department of Labor, the company and its owner failed to pay employees time and one-half the regular hourly rate for time worked in excess of 40 hours a week and failed to keep accurate time and payroll records for approximately seven years. 

Employers cannot afford to have ineffective payroll policies. Management 2000, an Indiana PEO, provides payroll services for small businesses as well as HR and employee benefits administration. With help from Management 2000, employers can rest assured that payroll and other human resource issues are properly managed. 

More and more employers are moving away from traditional vacation, sick and personal leave policies. Paid Time Off (PTO) policies provide a bank of time employees can use when they must miss work, whatever the reason might be. Fifty-four percent (54%) of employers recently surveyed offer this type of program. Almost three fourths (72%) of these employers also allow employees to carry over unused time to the next year. 

Time off with pay is an important component of an employee benefits plan. The HR professionals at Management 2000, a PEO with offices in Indiana and Ohio, provide human resource help to employers who want to design or revise their time off policies. Whether an employer’s HR strategy involves traditional vacation, sick and personal leave policies, or a comprehensive PTO policy, Management 2000’s HR Department can provide the HR support needed to develop an effective time off program.  

• Benefits Plan design
• Employee Benefits Administration
• Payroll Coordination
• Communication

The newly enacted Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act requires employers to provide “reasonable break time” to employees to allow them to express breast milk for nursing children. The law requires that the break time be provided for one year after the child's birth and that an employer must provide a private, shielded place other than a restroom in which the nursing mother may express the breast milk. The amendment does not apply to businesses with fewer than 50 employees if compliance would impose an undue hardship on the employer and does not require the employer to compensate the nursing employee for the break time. The measure does not, however, preempt state laws with more generous provisions for nursing mothers.

Management 2000, a Professional Employer Organization with offices in Indianapolis, Indiana and Dayton Ohio, constantly monitors federal and state laws and regulations related to human resources administration. With this information, the HR professionals at Management 2000 provide the human resources help employers need for compliance. Whether the issue is legal compliance, employee benefits management , discipline, or training, employers can count on Management 2000 for accurate, timely advice.

• State-based insurance exchanges open for business.  The exchanges are available to individuals and small businesses with less than 100 full-time employees (seasonal workers are not excluded).
• Annual dollars limits on coverage can not be required as of January 1, 2014.
• Waiting periods are limited to 90 days.
• Preexisting exclusions are prohibited on plans.
• Plans must include 'comprehensive health coverage' that includes the general categories defined in the legislation.
• U.S. citizen and legal residents are required to have health coverage. Those do not enroll in a plan will have to pay a penalty.
• Employers with more than 50 employees that do not offer group coverage and has one employee that received a premium assistance tax credit will be assessed a fee per for every full-time employee.  The first 30 employees are not counted.
• Large employers (more than 200 full-time employees) must automatically enroll full-time employees into a plan.
• In 2018, an excise tax will be applied to insurers of employer-sponsored health plans that have a total value that exceeds $10,200 for individual and $27,500 for family coverages.

Even employers that are careful to comply with equal employment opportunity laws can find themselves facing a discrimination complaint. As a result, all employers can benefit from adopting an HR strategy to address EEO concerns. According to guidelines published by the EEOC, an effective anti-harassment policy and complaint procedure should include:

• clear explanations of the prohibited conduct;

• non-retaliation assurances for employees who make complaints or provide related information;

• clear reporting procedures that provide for accessible avenues of complaint;

• confidentiality restrictions on disclosure of complaint and investigation details;

• prompt, thorough, and impartial investigative practices; and

• procedures to ensure immediate and appropriate action to remedy actual instances of harassment.

Of course, employers must also communicate these procedures to all employees.

Many businesses do not have the time or resources to devote to this and other human resources administration issues. The HR professionals at Management 2000, a Professional Employer Organization, have the expertise and HR management tools to provide the human resources help employers need to develop appropriate HR strategies and procedures to ensure legal compliance.   

• Small businesses tax credits for employers that purchase health insurance based on the number of employees and average annual wages.
• If you provide Medicare Part D subsidy to retirees, it will be eliminated in 2011.  You will need to account for the future loss on liability and income statements.
• Group and individual plans required to cover dependents up to age 26. 
• Group plans that are not grandfathered, will have to cover pre-existing conditions for children under the age of 19. 
• Federal grant program for employers providing wellness programs to their employees. 
• Employers must include health benefits on W2s during taxable years after 12/31/2010.
• Changes to Health Savings (HSA) and Flexible Spending (FSA) Accounts.
• Mandate to enroll employees in a new national public long-term care program, unless employee opts out.