Word on Benefits

Four Lessons From 2020 Open Enrollment

Kathy Bergstrom, CEBS

08 Jul 202107 Jul 2021

As they’re looking ahead to the 2021 annual benefits enrollment, many benefits managers may also be looking back to their experience in 2020 to figure out the best approach. In his article “What 2020 Taught Us About Open Enrollment” in the May […]

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Four Key Steps for Tackling Fraud in Health Benefits

Robbie Hartman, CEBS

28 Jun 202116 Jun 2021

Benefits fraud and insurance abuse are not victimless. They are real crimes with real consequences, including plan losses that can result in the reduction or elimination of health care benefits for those who need it most. Employers, plan sponsors and insurers—as noted […]

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Employers Consider More Pet-Friendly Benefits in the Postpandemic Workplace

Kathy Bergstrom, CEBS

25 Jun 202122 Jun 2021

June 25 is officially National Take Your Dog to Work Day. Admittedly, for the last 15 months, every day has been Take Your Dog to Work Day—actually, Work From Home With Your Dog Day—for many people. But workers may soon have to […]

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Dependent Care Employee Benefits Regulatory U.S.

Dependent Care Accounts and the Taxation of Carryover Amounts

Anne Newhouse

23 Jun 202121 Jun 2021

Beginning in March of 2020, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released several pieces of guidance to lessen the impact of COVID-19 on employees who have flexible spending accounts (FSAs) and dependent care assistance program (DCAP) accounts and were unable to use the […]

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Employee Benefits Human Resources (HR) U.S.

Building (or Reevaluating) a Benefits Package for Today’s and Tomorrow’s Workforce

Julie Stich, CEBS

22 Jun 202121 Jun 2021

After 15 months, it’s looking like we’re heading into a period of time we can legitimately call “postpandemic.” We’ve been seeing, hearing and reading about what this new era will mean for the workforce—flexibility, remote work, mental well-being, financial security, inclusivity. What […]

Affordable Care Act (ACA) Employee Benefits Health Care Legislative U.S.

U.S. Supreme Court Upholds Affordable Care Act

Amanda Wilke

17 Jun 202117 Jun 2021

In December 2017, Congress passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which dropped the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) individual mandate penalty to $0, effective January 1, 2019. A group of states led by Texas and two private citizens argued that since the […]

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What to Consider When Choosing a Mental Health Benefits Strategy

Kathy Bergstrom, CEBS

15 Jun 202115 Jun 2021

From traditional employee assistance programs (EAPs) to bots that use artificial intelligence, the range of options to address worker mental health challenges has grown. What should employers and plan sponsors consider when deciding which mental health benefits tools to use and promote? […]

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Talking Benefits Podcast: This Is . . . Jeop-ARPA-dy!

Anne Patterson

14 Jun 202117 Jun 2021

The latest Talking Benefits podcast episode covers the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) of 2021, signed into law by President Biden in March. There are huge implications for all Americans on several levels, but the pod squad spent time diving into some […]

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Employee Benefits Health Care U.S.

Changes in Health Care Claims Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic

Justin Held, CEBS

10 Jun 202109 Jun 2021

Over the past year, the International Foundation has surveyed U.S. organizations on three separate occasions to examine the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the most recent edition, respondents were asked about changes in the number of health care claims over this […]

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How Do Multiemployer Plans Claim COBRA Premium Assistance Credit?

Jenny Gartman, CEBS

09 Jun 202108 Jun 2021

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has issued Notice 2021-31 which provides guidance for multiemployer plans and plan administrators regarding the new credit available to them for providing continuation health coverage to certain individuals under COBRA. We summarized the COBRA changes under American […]