On December 20, 2017, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia vacated key provisions of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC) final rules for employer-sponsored wellness programs. However, to avoid disruption to employers, the court stayed its ruling until Jan. 1, 2019.
The HIPAA nondiscrimination regulations aren’t new to most employers with wellness programs. Employers who offer health-contingent wellness programs are especially familiar with the requirement to provide a reasonable alternative standard as part of their wellness program compliance.
Currently, a pending district court case, Secretary of Labor v. Macy’s, Inc. et al, has placed a greater focus on the reasonable alternative standard portion of the HIPAA nondiscrimination regulations. This focus is specific to health-contingent wellness programs that are outcomes based. These wellness programs require individuals to attain or maintain a certain health outcome (or outcomes) to receive a reward. A tobacco health plan premium surcharge is one example. Although this is an active case, with no official judgements or rulings, the flag has been raised by the Department of Labor specific to the reasonable alternative standard and outcomes-based programs.
Many companies with calendar-year benefit periods have recently wrapped up their open enrollment, or will be doing so in the near future. Open enrollment can be a productive experience, but it can also cause significant stress for employees and employers alike. As every HR professional knows, once employees have made their benefit selections and completed their forms, there is still work to be done.
After a year of many questions surrounding the future of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the IRS has recently provided some answers indicating that the agency will indeed move forward to enforce the employer shared responsibility requirements of the ACA.
Based on the recent update to its online resource, Questions and Answers on Employer Shared Responsibility Provisions Under the Affordable Care Act, the IRS will begin issuing notices (Letter 226J) to employers in late 2017 for potential liabilities from the 2015 calendar year.
Scott Benefit Services has accepted an invitation to join the National Association of Health Underwriters’ (NAHU) Principals Council, a group of elite agencies and brokers with significant influence on legislative and regulatory issues on the federal level. The NAHU focuses on legislative issues that impact health insurance, specifically employer-sponsored coverage. Their advocacy efforts promote affordable and responsible private health insurance market solutions.
The Principals Council includes representatives from some of the top agencies in the country – agencies with significant legislative influence and more sophisticated regulatory concerns. Members of the group attend top-level meetings with White House staff, members of Congress and federal agency leadership.