The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act, or COBRA, allows employees to continue their group health insurance at their own cost after they’ve been terminated from employment. COBRA is an employer law and there are significant penalties for non-compliance (up to $100/day for single coverage and $200/day for family coverage). Because of the substantial risk of those fines, Fall River highly recommends paying a TPA to administer COBRA. For those companies that choose to administer COBRA on their own, there are ten common mistakes made. 

Are you wondering how to start an impactful wellness program? Or maybe you are frustrated that your existing wellness program doesn’t seem to be getting traction? Perhaps you are missing a key ingredient in the recipe for success. Come learn how to shift the wellness paradigm within your organization during our upcoming webinars “The Missing Ingredient in Wellness Programs.” 

President Trump signed a budget deal on the 20^th of December. Some highlights included expanded parental leave for federal workers, a newly-created Space Force, an increase in the smoking age, and border wall funding. The deal also contained a major repeal of health care taxes and fees.

Another year and renewal season have zoomed by, and while it’s tempting to sit back and relax until the next renewal period, there are several benefit-related projects that you should tackle before then.

The Kaiser Family Foundation has released their 2019 Annual National Employer Benefits Survey. The survey has been tracking benefit statistics from private and non-federal public employers in the United States for the last 21 years. 

It’s been quite an eventful year for legislators both at the Colorado Capitol and in Washington, DC. Though Congress has been largely unable to pass any comprehensive legislation addressing healthcare or employment concerns in 2019, the Colorado Legislature was busy this year working on several must-know laws which could impact your business. 

At Fall River we’re always keeping our eyes on hot topics in the benefits world. As 2019 closes out, we are bringing you news on three potential developments: legislation preventing surprise hospital bills, the Texas v U.S. court case regarding the validity of the ACA, and the potential for a paid parental leave policy for federal workers. 

Most HR professionals are aware that the ACA’s individual mandate no longer exists, meaning that most Americans will no longer need to verify on their 2019 tax return that they had health insurance. Not all are aware, however, that there are five states plus the District of Columbia where your employees ARE still subject to their state or District’s individual mandate, most of which are new in the last year. 

It’s renewal season, a time when we are all painfully reminded that the cost of healthcare keeps going up. In order to stay competitive, employers want to keep their benefits packages extensive and their contributions generous, but how to manage that desire against the reality of cost? One way to tackle this is by considering alternate contribution structures for spousal coverage. 

On October 23, 2019, The House Ways and Means Committee voted to send two bills to the House floor for a vote that could favorably impact healthcare consumers.