Our Scott thought leaders provide content on a regular basis to elevate your thinking surrounding critical components of your company’s culture and overall performance.
Employers that provide health insurance for their employees know first-hand how the high cost of healthcare negatively impacts their business, and how cost shifting to employees challenges their workers. The skyrocketing trend of healthcare costs has become a widely accepted norm that leaves many feeling helpless, but viable alternative solutions are available. For those ready for change, understanding the options is the first step.
When it comes to determining which businesses need pollution coverage, most businesses think they know the answer. The manufacturing plant with its tall smoke stacks, the local gas station or the rock quarry down the road. In short: anyone but me.
The misconception around pollution exposure and the need for coverage is based on the fact that most businesses believe that pollution claims arise from traditional environmental claims like oil spills or water contamination. The reality is that pollution claims can come in many unexpected ways. For example, a faulty HVAC unit in a commercial building that starts to release carbon monoxide fumes that can lead to injury to the tenants. Another example is a contractor excavating for the foundation of a building that hits a sewer pipe. Each of these situations arises from the normal operations of the business, but each results in a pollution claim.
Cigna, one of the largest health insurers in the country, is set to acquire pharmacy benefit manager Express Scripts (ESI) in a cash and stock transaction valued at approximately $67 billion. The proposed deal has Cigna acquiring ESI at a 31% premium and is expected to close by the end of 2018.
One hundred million Americans have diabetes or pre-diabetes and newly diagnosed cases have tripled over the past 20 years. As the seventh leading cause of death in the United States, diabetes is characterized by inadequate insulin secretion resulting in high blood sugar and potential long-term heart, kidney, eye or nerve complications. Along with the rise of newly diagnosed cases, there has been a sharp increase in the cost of medication, presenting a challenge for many diabetic patients and their employers.
At the end of 2017, the U.S Senate and House of Representatives passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which reduced the corporate tax rate from 35% to 21%. The new tax rate, the lowest since 1938, went into effect on January 1, 2018.
While the full impact of the new plan is yet to be determined, it is expected that the changes will have a significant impact on the affordable housing industry and many of the clients we serve in that sector. The Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) helps finance 90% of affordable rental units built across the country. Since these credits are tied to the corporate tax rate, the credits are worth less to investors when the expected tax burden decreases.