Report: Obesity Cost Employers and Employees Over $400 Billion in 2023 A new report by data and analytics company Global Data revealed that obesity and overweight are estimated to have caused$425.5 billion in economic costs to U.S. businesses and employees in 2023. Excess body weight is linked to a heightened risk of chronic disease, [...]
Employers Should Start Preparing for 2024 RxDC Reporting Group health plans and health insurance issuers must annually submit detailed information on prescription drug and healthcare spending to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). This reporting is referred to as the “prescription drug data collection” (or “RxDC report”). The next RxDC report is [...]
Electronic Filing of ACA Returns Beginning in 2024, employers that file at least 10 returns during the calendar year must file their ACA returns electronically. Employers that have not requested an extension or an electronic filing waiver, and that are subject to the ACA reporting rules should be exploring options for filing electronically to [...]
New CDC Isolation Guidance and Employee Leave Considerations The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) new guidance that individuals no longer need to isolate from work for five days following a positive COVID-19 test may raise questions with employers about what leave they are required to provide to employees with the virus. The [...]
The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) allows individuals to continue their group health plan coverage in certain situations. Specifically, COBRA requires group health plans to offer continuation coverage to covered employees and dependents when coverage would otherwise be lost due to certain specific events. These events include the death of a covered employee, termination [...]
Medicare Part D Disclosures due by Feb.29, 2024 for Calendar Year Plans Group health plan sponsors are required to complete an online disclosure form with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on an annual basis and at other select times, indicating whether the plan's prescription drug coverage is creditable or non-creditable. This [...]
IRS Releases ACA Pay-or-Play Penalties for 2025 On Feb. 12, 2024, the IRS released updated penalty amounts for 2025 related to the employer shared responsibility (pay-or-play) rules under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). For calendar year 2025, the adjusted $2,000 penalty amount is $2,900 ,and the adjusted $3,000 penalty amount is $4,350. This is [...]
In-depth Analysis: The New Independent Contractor Rule’s 6 Economic Reality Factors The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) recently issued a final rule rescinding and replacing the current independent contractor rule that was published on Jan. 7, 2021. This new rule changes the agency’s guidance on how to analyze who is an employee or independent [...]
USCIS Issues Final Rule to Adjust Certain Immigration and Naturalization Fees Recently, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released a final rule to increase immigration and naturalization fees for multiple employment-based petitions and applications, effective April 1, 2024. Background The USCIS last adjusted its fees in December 2016. The final rule’s fee increases [...]
ERISA Lawsuit Alleges Mismanagement of Prescription Drug Benefits A proposed class action lawsuit filed against Johnson & Johnson (J&J) alleges that the company breached its fiduciary duties under ERISA by mismanaging its prescription drug benefits plan. The complaint asserts that J&J violated ERISA’s fiduciary duty of prudence in multiple ways and that this mismanagement [...]
