Congress Repeals ACA Rule: Provides Mid-Size Business Owners With Some Relief

The winds of change are blowing strong in Washington. In addition to last week’s news of growing Democratic support for the repeal of the Cadillac Tax, the House and Senate both passed legislation repealing the Affordable Care Act requirement that the small group market in every state be expanded from 1- 50 employees to include businesses with 51-100 employees. Yesterday the Protecting Affordable Coverage For Employees (PACE) Act was signed into law by President Obama.

This planned expansion of the small group market was expected to have a huge impact on mid-sized businesses. These businesses would have been required to buy coverage for employees in the small group market, which is more heavily regulated than the large group market. This change would have increased premium costs for employers and employees and reduced flexibility in plan design due to added small group market requirements.

With Growing Democratic Support, Will The Cadillac Tax Be Repealed?

Last week, the effort to possibly overturn the 40% excise tax on what the Affordable Care Act has deemed “excessively rich” health plans got a boost when Hillary Clinton surprisingly supported its repeal.

Even Bernie Sanders is on board with a bill moving through Congress, which would repeal this so called “Cadillac Tax”, which goes into effect in 2018 unless something is done to derail the effort.

As currently structured, the Cadillac tax will impact employers with benefit plans which exceed $10,200 for individuals and $27,500 for families. The 40% tax will apply to the value of the plans above those caps.

Employers Are Joining The Pack With Pet Insurance

We love our pets, and for good reason. There have been many scientific studies that demonstrate the strong psychological and physiological health benefits from having a pet, according to the American Association of Human-Animal Bond Veterinarians (AAH-ABV). Pets help us relax and make us more actively engaged with our environments, and they can play an important role in helping us deal with life’s hardships.

For all these reasons, and the fact that 62 percent of American households own pets, it was only a matter of time before group pet insurance was made available.

Participatory vs. Health-Contingent Wellness Programs

If you’re considering implementing a new wellness program, it is important to decide which type of program you wish to offer to your employees. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) divides workplace wellness programs into two categories: participatory workplace wellness programs and health-contingent programs. What are the differences between these two types of programs? And what are the standards employers must meet when designing a wellness program as part of its benefit package for employees?

Participatory Wellness Programs

A participatory wellness program is, by definition, open to any employee who wishes to participate. Some easily recognizable types of participatory programs include employee participation in diagnostic testing and screening; smoking cessation classes and education; reimbursement for gym or wellness center memberships; and programs for health education classes or seminars.

20 Unique Employee Benefits That Boost Employee Morale

The hiring world can be extremely competitive, especially in industries starved for top talent. Salary will always be high on the priority list for potential employees, but they also weigh other factors.

A recent study reveals that 95 percent of Americans consider job benefits and perks before deciding whether or not to take a new position or stay in their current one. Companies trying to attract the best employees may need to think a little outside the box when it comes to perks.

Here are 20 unique employee benefits that can seriously boost morale.

We’ve been posting all across social media for quite some time now, mostly adding commentary to breaking news and intriguing thought pieces on employee benefits.

But for years now we’ve been told by our clients, strategic partners and industry peers, that we really have an interesting approach to employee benefits – so much so that we needed to find ways to demonstrate this thought leadership to others.  So with that, we’ve entered the blogosphere.