Open enrollment may be over once you submit your elections, but your coverage doesn’t start immediately. Between the day you submit your elections and the day you can use them, a lot happens behind the scenes that employees don’t see. Dependents may need to be...
Offering more medical plans can seem like a way to increase employee choice. In practice, many employers now offer five or more options, and that creates complexity instead of clarity. As employers evaluate their benefits portfolios, many are looking for ways to improve employee decision-making...
When it comes to motivating employees, one size does NOT fit all, and with the cost of health insurance soaring, employers are caught in a difficult position. They need to manage their budgets, but they cannot afford to alienate employees by stripping down coverage. To bridge...
An explanation of benefits (EOB) is a helpful breakdown of how your health insurance handled a recent claim. While it may look like a bill, it’s simply a summary, not a request for payment. Learning how to read your EOB is one of the easiest...
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) restricts the actions an employer may take with respect to employees with disabilities. Among the ADA’s restrictions are limitations on an employer’s ability to require employees and applicants to undergo medical examinations or answer questions regarding medical conditions. The ADA...
For employers that use a biweekly payroll schedule, 2026 will be an unusual year. Due to the way the calendar falls and the placement of the New Year’s Day federal holiday, many organizations that typically run 26 biweekly payrolls will instead issue 27 paychecks during...
In 2026, the employee benefits market is being shaped by a variety of trends, including regulatory volatility, shifting compliance priorities, accelerated cost pressures and ever-evolving workplace demands. Here are compliance trends to watch for: On July 4, 2025, a sweeping tax and spending bill, commonly...
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) created reporting requirements under Internal Revenue Code (Code) Sections 6055 and 6056. Under these rules, certain employers must provide information to the IRS about the health plan coverage they offer (or do not offer) to their employees. Under the original rules,...
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) created a federally financed subsidy, called the premium tax credit (PTC), to help eligible individuals and families with low or moderate incomes afford health insurance purchased through an Exchange. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Congress temporarily enhanced the PTC by eliminating...
By: Steve Kolker, Insurance Consultant, Employee Benefits, Hilb Group/Barrow Group One of the most essential, but difficult to afford coverages is long-term care (LTC) insurance. LTC insurance covers services like nursing home, assisted living, or in-home assistance that Medicare generally does not provide. The cost for...