HHS to Consider Health Rate Increases Over 10 Percent "Unreasonable"

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has proposed a rule under which health insurance increases that average 10 percent or more would be considered "unreasonable" for individual and small group policies. HHS estimates that in 2011, more than half of the rate filings in the individual market and 20 percent to 40 percent in the small-group market would be deemed "unreasonable," according to a new Health Policy Brief from Health Affairs and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. This indicates that rate filings will be subject to review by a state authority or HHS to determine if the planned increase is appropriate. Starting from 2014, states will also be able to exclude insurers with a history of requesting excessive increases from the new state health insurance exchanges. Most states and the District of Columbia have the ability and the authority to conduct insurance rate reviews. But under the Affordable Care Act, if a state is not able to do so, HHS will conduct the review instead.

Read the whole phillyBurbs article here...

Have a great weekend!

Tip Tuesday: President Signs Repeal of Expanded 1099 Requirements

From the Journal of Accountancy: 

On Thursday, President Barack Obama signed into law the Comprehensive 1099 Taxpayer Protection and Repayment of Exchange Subsidy Overpayments Act of 2011 (HR 4; 1099 Act), which repeals both the expanded Form 1099 information reporting requirements mandated by last year’s health care legislation and also the 1099 reporting requirements imposed on taxpayers who receive rental income enacted as part of last year’s Small Business Jobs Act (PL 111-240). The Senate approved the bill on April 5, and the House voted in favor of it on March 3.

Link here to the whole article...

Feds' Crusade Against Worker Misclassification Just Got Bigger

The Department of Labor (DOL) is adding firepower in its fight against companies that commit worker classification mistakes. 

As part of its 2012 budget request, the DOL is planning on allocating $150,000 to the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) to train its safety inspectors to spot worker classification errors.

More money, more investigations

As a result of these increased enforcement efforts, the DOL says its Wage and Hour Division will conduct approximately 3,250 additional investigations, targeting employers in industries with higher rates of violations — such as construction, home health care and landscaping.

Read the whole article from HR Morning here...
More information from the IRS website here...
The United States Department of Labor website

Tip Tuesday: HR’s 12 worst worries for 2011 – and how to cope

What are the critical pain points HR pros should be addressing over the next year?

Top employment law attorneys Charles High, Pat Stanton and Jeff Portnoy offered a blueprint for employers at the recent Labor & Employment law Advanced Practices (LEAP) symposium in San Diego.

Link: Here is a 12-point action plan, based on their presentations.

Also, follow us on Facebook & Twitter!
Have a great Tuesday! Keep in touch!

Federal Government Takes First Step Towards Higher Quality Health Care

National Quality Strategy will promote better health, quality care for Americans 

 

Created under the Affordable Care Act, first-ever strategy will guide local, state and national efforts to improve quality of care

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) today released the National Strategy for Quality Improvement in Health Care (National Quality Strategy). The strategy was called for under the Affordable Care Act and is the first effort to create national aims and priorities to guide local, state, and national efforts to improve the quality of health care in the United States.

 ...................................

While the changes may seem to be just common sense, the government is finally starting to focus on health care quality.

Check out the HHS Press Release for their plan here:
http://pbpinfo.com/links?ID=-1390824193&L=QBEZ-173bb-d 

 

Aetna Offers New Voluntary Hospital Indemnity Plan

Help your employees with our new Aetna Voluntary Hospital Plan. It’s an affordable solution for members to help protect their finances in the event of a hospital stay.

With our plan, members get direct cash benefits when they are admitted to a hospital for a covered injury or sickness. These benefits can help pay for deductibles and out-of-pocket medical expenses, day care costs, mortgage obligations — anything at all.

The Aetna Voluntary Hospital Plan is available nationwide at no direct cost to employers.

The Aetna Voluntary Hospital Plan provides:

• An initial lump-sum benefit payment, typically $1,000-$2,000 for one hospital stay per year
• A daily benefit of, typically $100-$500 for 10-100 inpatient days
  per year

Program highlights:

• Available at no cost to employers
• Minimum participation requirement is only 25 employees
• Can be offered anytime — effective date doesn’t need to align with medical plan
• Electronic enrollment options available
• Manual composite book rates with price stability
• Affordable rates

With all these features, our Voluntary Hospital Plan gives you an opportunity to increase employee morale, attraction and retention.

For more information visit:  www.AetnaVoluntary.com

A Shift Toward Smaller Health Insurance Networks - (Los Angeles Times)

Thousands of employers in California and nationwide are opting for 'narrow network' HMOs, which offer notable savings on insurance premiums but also offer fewer medical providers.

California, with nearly 21 million people in health maintenance organizations, is driving the rapid expansion of these networks. More than 10,000 California employers and public agencies have enrolled, mostly since the recession struck in 2008.

While many workers welcome the cheaper HMOs, the savings come at the price of fewer healthcare choices.

Read the whole article here...

Tip Tuesday: Need to revitalize your workouts? Join Team In Training (TNT)

Breathe new life into your workouts by getting support and inspiration — and raise money for life-saving cancer research.

UnitedHealthcare is a proud supporter of Team In Training (TNT) — the leading endurance sports charity training program. Since 1988, TNT has helped people — beginners as well as advanced athletes alike — reach their health and fitness goals. And, they help people with cancer live better, longer lives. In fact, TNT has raised more than $1 billion for blood cancer research.

Sound fun and exciting? More than 440,000 people have turned to TNT for support in fulfilling their fitness goals. What's even better? You'll have the satisfaction of knowing you're supporting life-saving cancer research.

Read the article here and view the 2011 Fall/Winter events...
For more information and to enroll, visit www.teamintraining.org/uhc.

High-Deductible Plans: When Spending Less on Health Care Isn't Always Better (Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation)

This column is a collaboration between KHN and Jonathan Cohn, Senior Editor of The New Republic.

Conservatives think traditional health insurance provides too much financial protection from medical expenses. They also think that the Affordable Care Act will make this situation worse. That's one reason they want to repeal it.

Redesigning insurance in a way that actually lowers spending and, by the way, promotes good health, is a lot more complicated than merely giving people 'more skin in the game,' as conservatives like to put it. A new study by researchers affiliated with the Rand Institute suggests why.  

Read the whole article here...

IRS Delays Smaller Employer Deadline to Report Health Insurance Costs on W-2s (Business Insurance)

Business Insurance Magazine Reports Breaking News

 

WASHINGTON—The Internal Revenue Service said Tuesday that it will give smaller employers even more time to comply with a health care reform law requirement that employers report the cost of coverage on employees' W-2 wage and income statements.

In addition, the IRS also clarified that the reporting requirement does not apply to retirees receiving health care coverage.

Under the reform law, employers were required to provide health care cost information on 2011 W-2 statements that are distributed to employees in 2012.

But last year, the IRS waived that requirement for 2011 and said the health care cost reporting requirement would apply to 2012 W-2s, which are issued in 2013.

Link to read the article here...
Link to Business Insurance website

Tip Tuesday: Small Business Health Care Tax Credit Webinar Is Now Available In The IRS Video Portal

Small Business Health Care Tax Credit Webinar
For Small Business Owners

IRS Presenter, Michelle Eldridge - Chief of IRS National Media Relations goes over general information and eligibility that applies in most common situations and provides examples. Questions and answers are answered and links are provided at the end of the webinar for more information.

This tax credit is designed to encourage small businesses to offer health insurance coverage for the first time or to maintain the coverage you already have. Learn more about eligibility for your small business at: www.irs.gov.

Until next week...take care.