At MedBen, we believe that employers both large and small should benefit from the savings achieved by a healthy workforce. That’s why for two decades we’ve offered self-funded solutions for large and smaller employers. Still, for companies… more »

Last week, we alerted you to new regulations proposed by the Treasury Department and IRS on information reporting requirements under the employer mandate provision of the Affordable Care Act. As we noted, the agency is requesting feedback in regard to… more »

Following complaints that employer reporting requirements under the Affordable Care Act were too complicated, the U.S. Treasury Department has proposed new rules, the Associated Press reports. The agency seeks comment on options to reduce or streamline… more »

In June, the United States Supreme Court handed down its ruling in United States v. Windsor – the highly publicized Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) case. While the Supreme Court’s ruling was very specific regarding changes required in the areas of the… more »

The Obama administration has announced another delay in implementation of the Affordable Care Act. The signing of final agreements with insurance plans to be sold on federal health insurance exchanges has been postponed from the original dates of… more »

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires that health plans providing medical benefits provide a uniform summary of their benefits to eligible individuals to be used in comparing any different coverage options that are available to these individuals. When… more »

MedBen has just completed a seven-week Affordable Care Act Webinar Series. Led by MedBen Vice President of Compliance Caroline Fraker and offered exclusively to clients, each one-hour session focused on a different aspect of the Affordable Care Act and… more »

A Kaiser Health News/USA Today story is making the media rounds today: “Partly blaming the health law, United Parcel Service is set to remove thousands of spouses from its medical plan because they are eligible for coverage elsewhere. “Rising… more »

A recent news item about a “largely unnoticed” delay for out-of-pocket cost limits under the Affordable Care Act created some confusion as for whom it was intended. As it happens, the one-year postponement affects only a small portion of… more »

Premiums for employer-based health insurance continue to grow slowly, say researchers from the Kaiser Family Foundation. The New York Times reports that, according to the KFF survey, the average annual premium for family polices purchased through an… more »

A Gallup poll released this week reports that 58% of Americans believe it’s okay to charge a higher health insurance rate to smokers, but only 41% agree overweight people should be charged more. According to MedCity News, the reason that many Americans… more »

Ohio individuals and businesses that purchase health insurance through the state’s exchange will see significant increases in premium costs, according to the Ohio Department of Insurance. Based on rates submitted by insurance companies that will… more »

As we posted on the blog earlier this year, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) will no longer allow employers to offer “stand-alone” health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs) effective January 1, 2014. We also noted that the rule does not apply to… more »

Good news about health care reform! Well, good if you’re working on Capitol Hill, anyway… A ruling by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) approved the continuation of federal contributions to members of Congress and their staff when… more »

John Goodman of the National Center for Policy Analysis notes that a little-noticed brief released last week, using data from the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services website, contained some newsworthy information: “[T]he Government… more »

The delay in the Affordable Care Act’s employer mandate has emboldened some small businesses to consider expansion: “Nearly a quarter, or 24.4%, of small-business owners affected by the delay said they will invest in equipment or facilities… more »

As often seems to happen with government programs, good intentions sometime carry costly consequences. To wit: “The Affordable Care Act expands a program called 340B, which siphons money from drug makers and insurers to subsidize certain… more »

The Obama administration’s decision to postpone implementation of the employer mandate until 2015 has bumped the cost of the Affordable Care Act up by $12 billion, based on a new estimate by the Congressional Budget Office. Reuters reports that… more »

In the past few weeks, the biggest news about the Affordable Care Act has included a delay in the employer mandate, a new fee for self-funded groups, and a Chamber of Commerce survey that found many small businesses were concerned about their prospects… more »

John R. Graham, a chartered alternative investment analyst, offers a cautionary note to businesses regarding the 12-month delay of the employer mandate: “[E]mployers need to be aware that they are offered only ‘transition relief’ for next… more »