6 other ways wellness programs produce big ROI for employers

By Christian Schappel

The No. 1 goal of wellness programs is to save money. And for the most part, research has proven they’re successful at doing just that. But new research shows employers benefit from wellness plans in six other ways as well.

In addition to the healthcare cost savings employer-sponsored wellness program can generate (anywhere from $2.71 for every dollar spent to $3.27, depending on the studies you read), the 2013 Aflac WorkForces Report revealed that employers with wellness plans benefit from them via increases in these areas: Click here to continue reading.

5 Ways to Avoid Time Theft in the Workplace

What exactly is time theft? When an employee deliberately wastes time for which they are getting paid, they have committed time theft. There are various forms of time theft and you may have employees who may not be aware they are doing so. It can be an indicator that a business is lacking in employee productivity and accountability.

What can employers do to reduce the occurrence of time theft? Here are five steps you can take to improve productivity and boost morale:

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Important Dates to Remember

The following checklist provides insurance agents/brokers, employers and benefits and payroll professionals key upcoming dates and deadlines related to health benefits. This reminder list does not constitute all of the deadlines applicable to employers and some deadlines may be different based on variations in plan year or plan design.

  

NR Topic (Select topic from drop-down menu)	Description	Date
Cafeteria Plans Flexible Benefits	Form 5500 filing deadline. Generally, for health plans with 100 or more covered participants, the 5500 report must be filed no later than the last day of the 7th month after the end of the plan year. This is July 31 for plans with a calendar-year plan year.	July 31, 2013
Payroll	Form 941 filing deadline.Generally, employers must file their quarterly payroll tax returns by the end of the month after the end of each quarter.	July 31, 2013
ACA Health Care Reform	Form 720 deadline.The first installment of Patient-Centered Outcome Research (PCOR) fees is due with this quarterly excise tax form.	July 31, 2013
ACA Health Care Reform	Contraceptive-preventive care safe harbor expires.The For plan years starting on or after this date, the safe harbor exemption from this mandate expires for non-grandfathered group health plans established or maintained by nonprofit organizations whose plans have not covered contraceptive services for religious reasons.	August 1, 2013
ACA Health Care Reform	MLR rebate deadline.Insurance carriers must provide any rebates related to the Medical Loss Ratio by this date. Starting in 2014, this date will be moved to September 30.	August 1, 2013
Cafeteria Plans Flexible Benefits	Summary Annual Report Deadline. For group health plans that are required to file a Form 5500, they must distribute a Summary Annual Report no later than nine months after the end of the plan year, unless an exception applies. More information is available from the DOL.	September 30, 2013 (for calendar-year plan years)
ACA Health Care Reform	Exchange Notice Deadline.All employers must send an Exchange Notice to all current employees by this date.	October 1, 2013
Medicare	Medicare Part D Creditable/Non-Creditable Coverage Notices.The annual deadline for employer notices is moved up one month in advance due to the Affordable Care Act. Notices must be sent before October 15, 2013.	October 15, 2013
Payroll	Form 941 Filing Deadline.Generally, employers must file their quarterly payroll tax returns by the end of the month after the end of each quarter. More information is available in the IRS instructions.

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Reform law ‘glitch’ to benefit smokers

by Christian Schappel

The hits just keep on coming for Obamacare. Now the feds are saying a glitch in the law may prevent insurers and plan sponsors from being able to charge the full smoking penalty to those who keep lighting up.

Under the healthcare reform law, insurers and plan sponsors are allowed to charge workers who smoke up to a 50% premium surcharge to encourage them to quit.

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Tip Tuesday! 4 steps to making difficult decisions

By Arleen Fitzgerald, L.I.C.S.W.

Some everyday choices can be a toss-up.

Art film or action flick? Tex-Mex or Thai?

You might flip a coin, draw straws or let a pal pick. But, sometimes you may face a truly tough dilemma or a life-changing choice. Is it time for Grandpa to move in with us? Should I go back to school? That's when the stakes — financial, emotional, even physical — might be high. And, it's also when you may feel stuck.

Make a thoughtful choice
No matter what your dilemma, careful consideration may help you move forward more confidently.

Try these four steps to help you determine what's best. A tip: Grab a notepad and a pencil or pen — and find a quiet spot to try this exercise. 

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Obamacare’s nondiscrimination rules carry staggering fines

by Jared Bilski

Compared to the “pay or play” penalties, very little attention has been given to what happens when firms violate Obamacare’s nondiscrimination rules. But this is one area of health reform compliance you can’t afford to ignore.

As you know, the nondiscrimination rules generally prohibit employers from offering current or former workers healthcare coverage that isn’t available to all employees within the company.

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ACA Employer Penalties and Reporting Delayed Until 2015

In a startling announcement late Tuesday, July 02, 2013, the Obama Administration delayed the Affordable Care Act (ACA) information reporting requirements and penalties related to the employer mandate until 2015.

This is great news for applicable large employers. A White House statement summed up the rationale: “In our ongoing discussions with businesses we have heard that you need the time to get this right. We are listening.”

This transition relief means applicable large employers will not have to pay a shared responsibility penalty tax for 2014, either for failing to provide minimum essential coverage to substantially all full-time employees or failing to provide them coverage that is affordable and offers minimum value.

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New bills aim to change 2 unpopular Obamacare rules

by Jared Bilski

There’s some new Obamacare legislation being considered right now that all HR and benefits pros will want to keep an eye on.

First, there’s the Forty Hours is Full Time Act of 2013, which was introduced by Sens. Collin (R-ME) and Joe Donnelly (D-IN) to increase the threshold for hours worked to 40 for an individual to be considered a full-time employee.

Starting on Jan. 1, 2014, Obamacare defines full-time employees for the  purposes of determining an employer’s “shared-responsibility” requirements as individuals who work at least 30 hours per week (currently it’s set at 40), which is calculated on a monthly basis.

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Tip Tuesday! The Truth About Organic Foods from China

by Dr. Josh Axe

There are articles all over the Internet right now about “fake organic” food from China. Wanting to keep you informed, I read through many of them. The problem was, they all seemed to quote other sources and reading on, I found that these sources quoted other sources and so on. There didn’t seem to be any credible first-hand sources for this information. Was this all just rumor run rampant, as Whole Foods claims?

Whole Foods has been accused of selling these “fake organic” foods from China but they claim that “any product sold as organic in the US, regardless of where it’s grown, must be certified to the USDA’s National Organic Program standard by a USDA-accredited certifier.”

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On The Chopping Block: Honey

by Dr. Axe

Is Honey Healthy? Should you be consuming it?

Honey is a sweetener that has been used for thousands of years. It has some health benefits as well as some negatives. In the end I will answer whether honey is something you should have in your diet or not? 

Click Here to see an informative video.

7.5 Common FLSA Errors

Exactly 75 years ago today, Franklin Delano Roosevelt may have experienced writer’s cramp. After all, he signed over 100 bills into law on that day, including the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

The FLSA initially covered only about 20 percent of  the workforce, setting standards for child labor, minimum wage ($.25 per hour) and a 44-hour maximum workweek. The FLSA has undergone several changes since then, but one thing remains the same: employers still struggle with complying with this law. Therefore, instead of providing a cake with 75 candles, we are paying respect to the FLSA by pointing out 7.5 frequent mistakes employers make:

Click Here for the complete list.

DOMA struck down: Impact on FMLA, COBRA, ERISA policies

by Christian Schappel

As you’ve probably heard by now, the U.S. Supreme Court just struck down the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). This will have some far-reaching effects on benefits plans.

In addition, the High Court also ruled on a case involving California’s Proposition 8, the state’s same-sex marriage ban. It said that supporters of the ban didn’t have legal standing to appeal a lower court’s ruling that struck down the ban.

This will more than likely open the door to legalized same-sex marriage in California, although the losing party has a few weeks to petition the courts over the verdict.

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Tip Tuesday! 8 Secrets to Cure Hypothyroidism… and other hormone problems

by Dr. Josh Axe

Every week I get questions about hormone imbalance and a slow metabolism.  These are conditions that are chronically plaguing both men and women all across america.   What causes most of these issues?  Problems with the thyroid.

And here I am going to tell you the best natural remedies and natural cures for the thyroid.

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Live report from SHRM: Looming Obamacare crisis could cost you top performers

by Jared Bilski

Many employers are so focused on the costs and resources associated with Obamacare compliance that they’re woefully unprepared for a crisis that could develop right under their noses – one that may prove very costly in the long run.

That was one of warnings issued by Karl Ahlrichs at the 2013 SHRM Annual Conference & Exposition in Chicago.

HR Benefits Alert attended Ahlrichs’ presentation at the conference entitled, Using the PPACA as a Catalyst to Move Organizational Culture.

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Benefits recordkeeping: What you must keep – and for how long

by Christian Schappel

The trouble with recordkeeping at a lot of companies: You don’t know how complete your records are until you get involved in litigation or an audit. But by then, it’s often too late to fill in any critical gaps.

That’s why it’s essential to know — before you’re charged with any wrongdoing — what documents you need to hold onto and what you can trash without putting your company at risk.

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What 94% of employers said about sponsoring health coverage under ACA

by Patrick Schober

With Fall implementation coming fast, one survey tried to assess what Obamacare’s impact on employer-sponsored health care will be.

The International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans (IFEBP) has been surveying HR reps, general and financial managers, and other company officials on the Affordable Care Act (ACA) since 2010. IFEBP released its fourth survey in March, having received 966 responses.

Perhaps the most interesting stat to come out of it: 94% of employers said they “definitely” or “very likely” will continue providing coverage after the ACA kicks in.

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Tip Tuesday! Which Protein is Better, Whey or Soy?

Dr. Josh Axe 
Whey Protein vs. Soy Protein: Which is the Best Choice?
With thousands of protein powders on the market it’s hard to know which one to choose. Let me start by saying protein supplements are for “supplementing” a diet that is already high in quality sources of protein.  that come from real foods like free-range eggs, poultry, wild caught fish, raw dairy, and grass-fed beef. Check out my superfood plate below for a breakdown of how much protein/fat/carbs I recommend and sources for each.

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Are You Vitamin D Deficient?

BY DR. AXE

Recently the importance of the often forgotten vitamin D have come into the spotlight. Study after study reveals that low levels of vitamin D enable disease progression in the body while adequate levels of this sunshine vitamin not only decrease your risk of disease but also helps to fight off diseases already in place.

(There are five known types of vitamin D. D1, D2, D3, D4, and D5. For our purposes here we are speaking of vitamins D2 and D3.)

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Breaking down the barrage of new Obamacare guidance & forms

By Jared Bilski

With the main part of the Affordable Care Act set to take effect in a little over half a year, the feds have been very busy releasing new guidance. Here are the highlights of their latest efforts.

Exchange notices, SBC changes

The most recent guidance came from the DOL and offered some highly anticipated info on the notices that businesses are required to distribute to employees on the availability of health insurance exchanges.

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New bill would add big changes to HSAs, FSAs

By Jared Bilski

The popularity of tax-advantaged accounts like FSAs and HSAs has surged in recent years. But many feel the rules governing these accounts could use a makeover, and now there’s a new bill being considered that would do just that.

The Family and Retirement Health Investment Act of 2013 was introduced by Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), and the bill aims to strengthen HSAs and FSAs and expand the accounts to cover more individuals.

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