Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
by Lisa Higgins, Contributing Editor
According to IMS Health 2015 Report of Use of Drugs in the US, 35%–40% of pharmacy-related costs for employers can be attributed to specialty medications, even though they are used to treat just 1%–2% of pharmacy benefit members. That shouldn’t be a surprise, considering the dollars involved.
Generally speaking, money contributed to a health flexible spending account (FSA) in any plan year can be used only to reimburse qualified expenses incurred during that year; money not used to reimburse eligible medical expenses incurred during the plan year is forfeited.
More than any other concern as it relates to hiring and retention, finding and hiring top tech talent keeps executives up at night—more than keeping the team they have in place and more than staying competitive with regard to salary and bonuses. According to the Harris Allied Tech Hiring and Retention Survey for 2017, half […]
The practice of allowing employees to work from home—known as telecommuting—is a growing trend. Today’s technology allows many employees to work from anywhere. Telecommuting can be a plus for both you and your employees. Your company benefits because you pay less in fixed overhead costs when you don’t have to provide a traditional office for workers, and employees often enjoy the flexibility of working from home.
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has proposed to shift the definitions of qualified matching contributions (QMACs) and qualified nonelective contributions (QNECs) to employer-sponsored retirement plans to apply at account allocation, not at the initial plan contribution stage.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights (OCR), has announced the first Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) settlement based on the untimely reporting of a breach of unsecured protected health information (PHI).
Under a proposed settlement agreement filed with the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, retail giant Walmart has agreed to settle a class action lawsuit alleging that it discriminated against gays and lesbians in the administration of its spousal health insurance benefits. The proposed settlement, filed December 2, 2016, must still be approved by Judge William G. Young before becoming final, which could take a few weeks.
In late 2015 and early 2016, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and the staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) estimated the budgetary effects of H.R. 3762, the Restoring Americans’ Healthcare Freedom Reconciliation Act of 2015, which would repeal portions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA)—eliminating, in two steps, the law’s mandate penalties and […]
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has been directed to postpone and reexamine the fiduciary rule on investment advice that was scheduled to take effect April 10, under a memorandum signed February 3 by President Trump.
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court of Colorado against Central Security Communications Inc., CEO Robert Millikin, and fiduciary Howard Klinger to restore more than $82,000 owed to the Greeley, Colorado-based company’s retirement and health plans, as well as additional lost income, according to a new DOL […]