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.

We are very excited to announce our incredible growth in the past few years, and the addition of two new professionals to our amazing team!

A Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA) is an employer-established account that allows them to reimburse a portion of the member’s out-of-pocket costs, usually while meeting the deductible on their health plan. Under the current regulations established by the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in 2010, HRAs are only allowed in conjunction with an employer group health plan. On October 29^th, 2018, proposed regulations were announced by the Treasury Department, Health and Human Services, and the Department of Labor, that could change this limitation. 

The Trump Administration recently proposed a plan that could potentially cut pricing for pharmaceuticals through Medicare Part B. Attempts to lower these costs is nothing new, and the Obama administration had proposed something similar before he left office, with little success.  

With unemployment at historic lows and student debt at historic highs, it’s no wonder that employers are considering fresh types of benefits plans to attract talent. Some companies are offering student loan repayment benefits linked to their 401(k) plans, a practice which recently received a green light from the IRS in a private letter ruling. Though the ruling is not comprehensive and applies only to one company’s practice (pharmaceutical firm Abbott Laboratories), the decision provides guidance on how the IRS might rule in other cases. 

When the Obama administration issued guidance defining discrimination under the ACA to include denying certain benefits to transgender individuals, many employers began including new protocols for approving and covering certain benefits.

Those requirements appear to be shifting in the face of recent court cases as well as an expected new rule from Health and Human Services (HHS). While nothing is final yet, we’ve received a few questions from clients and wanted to address the status of this evolving issue.