June 2018
Stay Current Newsletter
art1Reward Employees and Promote Your Company Brand

Rewarding employees through a branded company store is a win-win. When visiting a client recently, we were able to view their store. This client is constantly striving to make cultural improvements and increase employee engagement.

Missed our blog post? Read it here.
art2Question of the Month

Q:  Why is a new hire not showing on my bill ? Why is a terminated member still on my bill?

A: Depending on the insurance carrier, bills are typically generated at least one month in advance. If a new hire is enrolled after the new bill is generated they will not show until the next bill, but the member will have been retroactively enrolled to their effective date. If a terminated member is still on the bill and the termination has been processed, then the termination was most likely processed after the new bill was generated and they will show as a credit on the next month's bill.

art4HR Done Right Blog: Hire Right by Identifying Soft Skills

The country is buzzing about the current unemployment rate. In May 2018, the national unemployment rate hit an almost record-breaking 3.8%. In the past we have discussed retaining and recruiting your employees, but what happens when the talent pool is a fraction of what it used to be? 


Click here to read the HR Done Right Blog.

art52019 'Pay or Play' Affordability Percentage Set at 9.86%

Under the employer shared responsibility ("pay or play") provisions of the Affordable Care Act, applicable large employers-generally those who had 50 or more full-time employees (including full-time equivalent employees)-may be subject to a penalty if they do not offer affordable coverage that provides minimum value to their full-time employees and their dependents. For plan years beginning in 2019, the Internal Revenue Service has announced that coverage will generally be considered affordable if the employee's required contribution for the lowest cost self-only health plan offered is 9.86% or less of his or her household income for the taxable year. For plan years beginning in 2018, the applicable percentage is 9.56%.

Given that employers are unlikely to know an employee's household income, they may use a number of safe harbors to determine affordability, including reliance on Form W-2 wages.



Article reprinted with permission from HR360.com

art6PCORI Forms and Fees Due July 31, 2018

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) established the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) to explore the effectiveness of medical treatments. An associated fee is charged to health insurers/health plans to finance a portion of a trust fund in support of this non-profit institute. The PCORI fee is paid by health plan issuers for fully insured plans, and by employers/plan sponsors for self-funded plans. Excepted benefit plans, such as most Health Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs), are not subject to the PCORI fee.
 
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art7Office Closure: Independence Day

BDR will be closed Wednesday, July 4, 2018 in observance of the Independence Day holiday. We will process and respond to all email and voicemails when normal business hours resume at 7:30 AM Thursday, July 5, 2018.


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