Anne Newhouse, CEBS, Author at Word on Benefits

“Transparency in Coverage” Rule: Potential Requirements for Employers

Anne Newhouse

21 Jan 202021 Jan 2020

On June 24, 2019, President Trump issued an executive order directing various federal agencies to develop new rules or regulations on improving price and quality transparency. As a result, on November 15, 2019, the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and […]

Employee Benefits Human Resources (HR)

What’s New in Onboarding Practices

Anne Newhouse

15 Oct 201914 Oct 2019

Nearly every company has an onboarding process for hiring new employees, but few employees would call it great. According to Gallup, only 12% of employees strongly agree that their organization does a great job of onboarding new employees. The main way to […]

Employee Benefits Paid Time Off (PTO) Vacation

5 Innovative Vacation Benefits for Your Organization

Anne Newhouse

23 Jul 201920 Nov 2019

According to the International Foundation Employee Benefits Survey, vacation time is one of the most commonly offered employee benefits, with approximately 97% of employers in the United States offering paid vacation days. The U.S. is one of few countries in the world […]

Employee Benefits Health Care

Flexible Spending Accounts: Reminders for Plan Sponsors About Eligible Medical Expenses

Anne Newhouse

08 May 201913 May 2019

According to the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans Employee Benefits Survey, more than 61 percent of plan sponsors offer a flexible spending account (FSA) to their participants. As medical costs continue to rise, we all want to save on health care, […]

Compliance Employee Benefits Health Care

How COBRA Interacts With HSAs, HRAs and FSAs

Anne Newhouse

13 Feb 201928 Oct 2019

The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985, better known as COBRA, became law on April 7, 1986. The law provides for continuation of health coverage from an employer-sponsored group health plan after an employee experiences a qualifying event like a job termination […]

Health Care

Medicare and COBRA Coordination: What You Need to Know

Anne Newhouse

17 Dec 201804 Nov 2019

Medicare and COBRA are both complex laws by themselves, but add the two together, and they require even more knowledge. If you’re the plan sponsor and have employees asking you for assistance, you know how difficult this topic is. To help, I’ve put […]

Employee Benefits Health Care

Group Medicare Advantage Plans—Tips for Plan Sponsors

Anne Newhouse

30 Aug 2018

Although the number of retiree health plans has been declining in recent years, there are still plenty of employers looking for cost-effective and flexible options to cover retirees aged 65 and older. Medicare is available beginning at the age of 65, although […]

Employee Benefits Health Care

An Employee Turns 65: How Medicare Enrollment Impacts Their HSA

Anne Newhouse

11 Jun 2018

Although health saving accounts (HSAs) have been available since 2003, for many plan sponsors new situations continue to arise. One of those situations could be having an employee turn 65. Now what happens? Medicare eligibility and enrollment seem simple but in reality […]

Employee Benefits Health Care Insurance

Coordinating Employer Health Plans With Medicare

Anne Newhouse

12 Apr 201809 Aug 2018

You’re a benefits professional—You know your benefits program like the back of your hand. But now, as employees are getting close to the age of 65, they’re starting to ask questions about Medicare, and you’re not always prepared to answer. Here are three […]

Disability Benefits Employee Benefits FMLA Paid Leave Paid Time Off (PTO)

Take Time to Review Short-Term Disability Benefits

Anne Newhouse

24 Jan 201809 Aug 2018

As part of your benefit plan offerings, your short-term disability (STD) plan may not be the most exciting of all the benefits offered at your company, but it sure is important to your employees—the majority of whom may not have even $1,000 saved […]