Tip Tuesday! One question employers should be asking about Obamacare?

By Jared Bilski

Employers are asking two main questions about health reform: What do I have to do? and When do I have to do it? But these are the wrong questions.

Instead, employers should be asking: Why am I offering employees healthcare benefits?

They should then use their responses to shape their companies’ healthcare reform compliance efforts and their overarching organizational benefits strategy.

Where to go from here

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Dependent Eligibility: Top Three Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Audit

By Bill Olson

Recently, UBA Partner Mike Humphrey, Senior Benefits Advisor at The Wilson Agency, shared some great insights for those who are considering doing a dependent audit.  He points out three reasons why you shouldn’t do these audits and offers a much better approach to reining in costs associated with covering dependents that should no longer be on your plan.  Humphrey’s long tenure counseling large employers shows once again that sometimes quick-fix solutions for eliminating wasteful spending aren’t worth it in the end, no matter how well intended. Instead, simple changes to the up front enrollment process can avoid a lot of headaches and keep costs in line.

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Giving new hires benefits info before they start streamlines onboarding

By Justyn Harkin

Yes, there is a way to streamline the benefits orientation process so new hires can get on the job faster, and guest author Justyn Harkin, a benefits communication specialist, is here to show you how one employer did it. 

Employers are faced with a challenge when it comes to presenting benefits materials to new hires: The content is too important to gloss over, yet the complexity of the subject matter and personal needs of new hires can create strenuous demands for the time and resources of HR pros.

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State of benefits communication: What’s the most effective method?

By Jared Bilski

An increasing number of firms are starting to deliver benefits info through electronic channels like email, social media and even text messaging. So are the traditional communication methods obsolete at this point?

The answer to that question is a resounding “No.” At least according to Prudential’s Eighth Annual Study of Employee Benefits: Today & Beyond.

The report found that group meetings and seminars are still the most successful communication methods used by employers. In fact, 74% of the firms in the study reported having “great” or “moderate” success with these methods.

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Tip Tuesday! Highlights of the SBC Requirement

By Linda Rowings

With Fall open enrollment around the corner, most employers will need to provide a Summary of Benefits and Coverage (SBC) to eligible individuals. Here are some highlights of the requirement (as of August 2014):
- Plan administrators of group health plans must provide a Summary of Benefits and Coverage (SBC) to eligible individuals

• Insurer is responsible for creating the SBC for fully insured plans, and the insurer and plan administrator are both responsible for distributing to participants in insured plans
• Plan administrator (which is usually the employer) is responsible for creating and distributing the SBC for self-funded plans

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Obama’s Executive Order on contractors could add to HR’s workload

By Jared Bilski

By now, HR pros have no doubt heard about how President Obama issued yet another Executive Order geared toward improving labor practices and workers’ rights. Now the real question is: Just how much is this likely to impact HR’s administrative processes? 

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7 best practices to clear up HSA confusion, lift participation

By Jared Bilski

Although health-savings accounts (HSAs) have become increasingly popular, one critical aspect of these tax-advantaged accounts isn’t anywhere close to where it should be.

That aspect is employees’ understanding of how HSAs actually work.

In fact, just 30% of HSA account-holders were able to correctly answer all of the questions on a basic HSA proficiency quiz, according to new research by Alegeus Technologies.

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