Health Care

The past year has seen a number of articles describing new state laws covering a range of benefits-related areas. Examples include New York State’s new paid leave act and Nevada’s law regulating fiduciary behavior. And more such laws are around the corner – a recent Kaiser Health News article noted that at least nine states […] Read more »

As the political battles – and stalemate – over the Affordable Care Act continues, employers may find themselves with the worst of all worlds. The portions of the ACA that create the greatest burdens on employers, such as the mandates, taxes and administrative obligations under the ACA stay in place. At the same time, uncertainty in the individual markets creates blowback that hurts employers in a number of ways. Read more »

The Department of Labor recently filed a lawsuit against Macy’s department store (Acosta v. Macy’s, Inc., S.D. Ohio, No. 1:17-cv-00541, complaint filed 8/16/17). The lawsuit has received some attention among benefits professionals; but this attention has focused on one aspect of the DOL complaint – claims that the tobacco surcharge imposed under the Macy’s health […] Read more »

My recent post (“Your Money … and Your Life”) described some of the decisions facing individuals in making health insurance and health care purchasing decisions. The choices described in that blog post were, generally, decisions that individuals make once per year – such as what type of health insurance coverage to buy (e.g., HMO, PPO, […] Read more »

As the wrangling over the future of the Affordable Care Act continues, it is important for consumers to keep their eyes on a very important issue – an issue that remains important, regardless of the outcome of the political battles. The issue: the increasing burden on individuals in making health care purchasing and utilization decisions. […] Read more »

As the Administration and Congress move beyond replacing the Affordable Care Act (at least for now), the focus is turning to changes in the tax code. This does not mean that employee benefits are out of the crosshairs; rather, it may simply mean that the target might shift. Here’s why: First (and Second) Goal – […] Read more »