Q.- An employee is retiring at the end of the month. He is on dialysis and is 65 years old. Do we offer COBRA coverage since he is already eligible for Medicare?
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The Health Coverage Tax Credit (HCTC) provided a credit to certain eligible individuals and their families to pay for qualified health insurance premiums. The HCTC was in effect from 2002 through 2013 and covered up to 72.5% of eligible healthcare costs for individuals whose jobs were eliminated due to foreign competition.
- What is Form 1095-C?
Form 1095-C is used by an employer to report information about the offers of health coverage it makes to its employees.
Q.- We have a group that as of August 1st is putting in place a spousal carve out-If a spouse of an employee is eligible for group health insurance through his or her employer, then her or she is no longer eligible for coverage. In this situation, is the removal of the spouse a qualifying event under COBRA?
Properly classifying a worker as an employee or an independent contractor is an important business decision. Employers must pay Social Security, Medicare and unemployment taxes for employees, while independent contractors are not subject to the same tax requirements.
Each year, health insurers must report information about their medical loss ratio to the Department of Health and Human Services. The medical loss ratio (MLR) is the cost of claims plus the amount expended on health care quality improvement as a percentage of total premiums. If an insurer spends too much on administrative expenses instead of on providing benefits, it will fail the MLR requirements.
Q.- An employee’s spouse has a brain ailment and is incapable of self-care. She hires a caregiver to come to the house to take care of him, bathe him and feed him while she is at work. Should she elect to participate in the health FSA or dependent FSA for reimbursement of the home care expenses?
The U.S. Department of Labor issued Proposed Rules that would change the overtime requirements under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The FLSA sets minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping and youth employment rules for employers.
On June 29, 2015, President Obama signed into law the Trade Preferences Extension Act of 2015, which increases potential penalties for failing to comply with health care reform reporting. The increased penalties also apply to other IRS filings, such as Form W-2.
Q. Can an employee be reimbursed from his health FSA for financial counseling?
The United States Department of Labor announced that $1.25 million will be available for research and analysis on how paid leave programs can be implemented across the United States. The Women’s Bureau will administer the funding.
The IRS released draft versions of 2015 Forms 1095 and 1094. These forms, once finalized, will be used to report information to employees and to the IRS under health care reform.
The Colorado Supreme Court held that an employer may fire an employee who fails a drug test for using marijuana when off the job, even if the employee has a legal prescription for the marijuana.
Q.- An employee wants to be reimbursed from her 2015 Dependent Care FSA for sending her children to day camp. We think it is an eligible expense, but she paid the camp bill in 2014. Can she be reimbursed now?
As employers are preparing for their health care reform compliance filings due in early 2016, some terms may cause confusion. Minimum essential coverage, minimum value, and essential health benefits are some of those terms.
