As you know, Fall River specializes in brokering group healthcare policies for our valued clients. However, we realize that benefits are just one component of your Human Resources obligations. We have spent many years cultivating solid relationships with trusted strategic partners in other areas of your business operations.

When an employee’s Group Life insurance plan ends, due to termination from the company or for other reasons, they don’t have to be left unprotected. Ex-employees are usually able to convert and/or port their coverage with the same Life carrier, but employers often are unaware of their obligations to the participant.

In late January, the Trump Administration proposed a substantial change to the way prescription drug rebates operate under Medicare Part D and Medicaid. While proponents argue that the change would help to lower consumers’ out-of-pocket costs for prescriptions, insurers warn that it would do the very opposite.

Today’s job market is extremely competitive, and it can be difficult for employers to find the most talented workers. A company’s benefit package can make one employer stand out over another, and offering additional fringe benefits could be the crucial difference in attracting and retaining top talent.

Auditing your monthly insurance carrier invoices may not be the most exciting task on the HR to-do list, but it’s absolutely necessary to ensure correct employee enrollments and premiums. In our experience, carriers are much more likely to work with employers on correcting errors caught in the first few months, rather than six months or more down the line.

California has recently passed a new anti-harassment law that applies to employers with employees that live or work in California, regardless of what state the employer is based. SB 1343 was signed by Governor Brown, which requires employers with five or more total employees to provide sexual harassment training to all California employees (both supervisory and non-supervisory) by January 1, 2020.

Most Employers running a wellness program already have their 2019 game plan in place. For those that don’t, or if you are just starting to implement a program, here are some top thoughts and trends to consider.

In federal policy news, the midterm elections are (nearly) over, with a new Democrat-led US House of Representatives and a Republican-led Senate set to be seated for the first time on January 3. North Carolina’s 9^th District US Representative will be noticeably absent from the new Congress as investigations continue into possible mail-in voter fraud in this year’s elections.

Before the 116^th Congress convenes, however, the current government will be considering a spending bill to fund the government beyond its current deadline of December 21^st.

A federal judge in Texas released his long-awaited decision last Friday in the lawsuit brought by a coalition of Republican State Attorneys General and Governors challenging the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act. We first discussed the lawsuit here in September when the judge was hearing arguments.

On November 29th, the IRS announced an extension for furnishing 2018 IRS Forms, 1095-B and 1095-C to employees from January 31, 2019 to March 4, 2019 (IRS Notice 2018-94).

The extension, however, does not extend the due date for employers, insurers, and other providers of minimum essential coverage to file 2018 Forms (such as 1094-B, 1095-B, 1094-C and 1095-C) with the IRS. The filing due date for these forms remains February 28, 2019 for paper transmittals, or April 1, 2019, if filing electronically.