It’s almost time for group health insurance open enrollment and your top priority should be to drive participation by helping your employees make informed decisions about their options. You’ll want to help your staff understand all of their options so they can choose plans that are best for their age, health and life situation. This…
Workers’ compensation fraud costs the insurance industry roughly $5 billion each year, according to estimates by the National Insurance Crime Bureau. Depending on whom you ask, fraud accounts for as much as 10% of the costs of all workers’ comp claims. This type of fraud is typically associated with malingering employees who fake injuries in…
If you are considering a merger with another agency or being purchased, there is plenty of due diligence that you’ll need to perform. Due diligence will span the gamut of issues, such as how contracts are structured, the soundness of the plan – and the numbers, of course. If your agency is being purchased or…
Some of the nation’s largest insurers have announced plans to roll back their prior authorization requirements for medical services. Prior authorization — or prior approval — has always been a thorn in the side of patients, often keeping them from accessing care in a timely fashion. The moves by these insurers come after the Centers…
Two bills wending their way through the state Legislature would increase the amount of sick days workers in the Golden State can take as well as expand — once again — the definition of “family” for the purposes of paid family leave. Business groups have come out against both of the bills, which they say…
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has issued new guidance for employers to provide reasonable accommodations for visually impaired workers who request it. About 18.4% of all American adults have at least some difficulty with their vision, even when wearing corrective lenses, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The new guidance addresses…
The U.S. Department of Labor has issued its long-awaited proposed changes to the nation’s overtime rules for American workers, proposing to increase the threshold for exempt status by more than 50% to $55,000. If the proposed rules become permanent rules, employers will need to prepare their bookkeeping and budgets to account for the new salary…
The IRS has significantly reduced the group plan affordability threshold — which is used to determine if an employer’s lowest-premium health plan meets the Affordable Care Act rules — for 2024. The threshold for next year has been set at 8.39% of an employee’s household income, down significantly from 9.12% this year. The lower threshold…
A controversial bill that would require every employer in California to have in place a workplace violence prevention plan has been passed by the State Senate and is now in play in the Assembly. The bill — SB 553 — would require any company with at least one worker to “establish, implement and maintain” a…