Healthcare News and Updates
MA Family & Medical Leave 2023 Rate Update!!
The Massachusetts Department of Family and Medical Leave announced the 2023 maximum contribution rate will drop to 0.63% (for companies with 25+ employees). The Family Leave Component will be 0.11% and the Medical Leave Component will be 0.52% of eligible wages. The total contribution rate for companies with less than 25 employees will be 0.318%.
Note: this is the state’s contribution rate. Private carrier plan contribution rates can, and do, vary from the state’s rate and you’ll want to confirm if your private plan rate is changing.
Whether you use the state or a private carrier, you’ll want to be sure employee deductions are updated with payroll and new employee notice distributed.
For any questions on this topic, feel free to contact us.
The Connection Between Strong Employee Morale and Organizational Success (Increased Revenue and Productivity)
It has been long held that the most effective way to invest in your business is by investing in your employees. Benefit Strategy Partners’ HR platform partner conducted a survey to find the connection between improving employee morale and business growth, and we thought it was worthwhile to share the results.
2,644 senior HR professionals were surveyed to uncover what some HR leaders did differently that led to improvements in business growth, despite the pandemic.
Why Employee Morale Matters to Business Growth:
The survey found that company morale, revenue & productivity go hand-in-hand.
The majority of companies that saw revenue and productivity gains also improved employee morale over the past year.
The majority of companies that saw their revenue and productivity shrink allowed employees morale to decline.
Four Indicators of Healthy HR:
Under duress, the companies with Healthy HR adapted quickly, strengthened their connection with employees, and in turn, increased productivity and revenue.
Thoughtful Compensation - 63% said “our employees are very satisfied with their compensation and benefits packages”.
Good Work-Life Balance - 69% said “our employees are very happy with their day-to-day work-life balance”.
Potential for Career Growth - 64% said “our training and development programs have successfully enabled employees to transfer into new areas of the business and pursue new careers”.
Appropriate Workload - 45% said “our employees are unburdened by vacant positions on our team”.
Healthy HR Can’t Exist Without a Focus on Mental Health:
Nearly all companies that achieved Healthy HR had an expressed focus on the mental health of their employees. The organizations that walked the talk on mental health thrived during the pandemic while others struggled just to survive.
Want to Know How Your Organization Scores on Healthy HR?
Strong organizations are significantly more likely to do the following 8 things:
Tailored Benefits - over 10x more likely to tailor benefits to specific employee situations
Mental Health - 11x more likely to place mental health as its top priority
Hybrid/Remote Work Flexibility - over 5x more likely to offer flexible remote and hybrid work
Schedule Flexibility - over 7x more likely to offer flexible working hours and scheduling
Safety Resources - 5x more likely to have the resources to keep up with changing safety guidance
Defined Career Ladders - over 10x more likely to have built well-defined career ladders
Opportunities for Advancement - 6x more likely to have created new roles to give employees the room to grow
Role Flexibility - over 8x more likely to be very flexible in how they design job roles
Benefit Strategy Partners is here to help simplify the complexity of HR and compliance so you can focus on growing your business. Interested in learning more? Feel free to contact us with any questions!
BSP Alert! No Surprises Act and Transparency in Coverage Rule
The Department of Health and Human Services, Labor, and the Treasury finalized the Transparency in Coverage Rule requiring health insurers and employer self-insured health plans to create a member-facing price comparison tool and post publicly available machine-readable files.
Machine-readable file is defined by the Hospital Price Transparency Final Rule as: A digital representation of data or information in a file that can be imported or read into a computer system for further processing.
In-Network Rate Files:
In-network rates with respect to each item or service for in-network providers, including negotiated rates, underlying fee schedule rates used to determine cost-sharing, or derived amounts, whichever rate is applicable to their reimbursement model. If this rate is percentage based, the file must include the calculated dollar amount, or calculated dollar amount for each provider, identified by NPI, if rates differ by providers or network tier. The file must identify bundles of items or services by relevant code.
Out-of-Network Allowed Files:
The historical out-of-network allowed amounts for covered items or services and the billed charges for those items and services, including each unique amount, associated with the provider by NPI. If the rate is percentage based, the file must include the calculated dollar amount, and must disclose aggregate actual amounts paid, plus the individual’s share of the cost. The data in the file should encompass a 90-day period that begins 180 days prior to the publication date.
Prescription Drug Files:
Negotiated rates and historical net prices connected to prescription drugs.
July 1, 2022 is the deadline for In-Network and Out-of-Network files. An updated enforcement date for the Prescription Drug file hasn’t yet been announced.
Post your machine-readable file prominently on a publicly available website
The machine-readable file must be posted in a prominent manner on a publicly available website.
Furthermore the information must be accessible, without barriers, including:
Be free of charge
Not require registration or user account or password
Not request personally identifying information (PII)
Law Alert! Department of Labor Guidance on FMLA and Mental Health Conditions
In recognition of Mental Health Awareness month, the DOL has released new employee rights to leave under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) for mental health conditions.
What does FMLA Cover?
Regularly scheduled psychologist appointments in certain circumstances;
Employees who have a serious mental health condition;
Employees who care for a spouse, child, or parent with a serious mental health condition
WHAT Qualifies a Mental Health Condition as a Serious Health Condition?
According to the FMLA:
If the condition requires impatient care
If the condition requires continuing treatment (overnight stay in a treatment center or continuing treatment by a clinical psychologist)
Chronic conditions such as anxiety, depression, or dissociative disorder that cause occasional incapacitated periods and require treatment atleast twice a year
WHO Qualifies for FMLA? (Have to fulfill all 3)
Employees who have worked at covered employers for 12+ months;
Within those 12+ months, they must have worked 1,250 hours;
And have atleast 50 employees within a 75 miles available to the employer
DOL Fact Sheet and Important Resources
Fact Sheet #280: Mental Health and the FMLA
US DOL Updated FMLA Guidance Press Release
Blog - The FMLA: Essential for Mental Health-Friendly Workplaces
BSP Compliance Alert!!
Due to COVID-19, the Department of Homeland Security temporarily allowed employers to accept expired List B documents due to the inability to renew documents during COVID-19. Effective May 1, 2022, employers will only be allowed to accept unexpired List B documents. Employers have until July 31, 2022 to update their Form I-9 that they received between May 1, 2020 and April 30, 2022.
Action Item: If an employee presented an expired List B document between May 1, 2020, and April 30, 2022, companies/organizations need to update their Form I-9 by July 31, 2022, as follows:
If the employee is still employed, they must present an unexpired document from List A or List B
No action is needed if the List B document was auto-extended by the issuing authority so that it was technically unexpired when it was presented or if the employee is no longer employed
There is a lot to digest in the ARPA COVID-19 Relief Bill that impacts employee benefits. See summary here to help understand how the provisions may impact your business. Please reach out if you have any questions.
As a member of the French American Chamber of Commerce (FACCNE), Scott Bostley serves as co-chairperson of FACCNE’s French American HR Forum. Offering events throughout the year, we look forward to facilitating thoughtful exchanges of ideas and resources so we can enhance our roles within our respective organizations.
BSP Alert: IRS Notices 2020-29 and 2020-33 for § 125 Plans
On May 12, 2020, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released two notices providing relief for 2020 cafeteria plans and related benefit issues in light of the COVID-19 national emergency. Notice 2020-29 focuses on permissible mid-year election changes under § 125 of the Internal Revenue Code and Notice 2020-33 focuses on allowable carryover provisions for a health flexible spending account (HFSA). The key points are summarized below.
Click Here To Learn MoreBSP FFCRA Flow Chart - Here is a flow chart that makes a pretty good visual on the FFCRA.
Click Here To See Flow ChartThe US Senate Committee on Small Business & Entrepreneurship has created a guide to better understand the new benefits that are becoming available via the CARES Act.
This guide provides an easy to follow overview of the various key programs that will soon be available from the Small Business Administration (SBA) along with an overview of select tax provisions that are outside the scope of SBA which are most applicable to small businesses.
However, there remains a number of questions to be answered on the CARES Act. We are finding that many small businesses will want to take advantage of the Payroll Protection Program mentioned in this summary. Unfortunately, lenders can’t take action as it hasn’t been made clear to them what information will be required from the applicants. So, it is possible that we are still weeks away from seeing these loans funded.
#CARESAct #COVID19 #coronavirus
Click Here To Read The Complete ArticleFor those who weren’t able to listen in to ThinkHR’s COVID-19 webinar, here are the slides and recording that are very much worth listening to and reading. Please reach out if you would like to discuss any components of the webinar (as there is a lot of information covered).
Click Here To Read The Complete ArticleBSP Alert: Massachusetts Releases Updated Proposed Paid Family And Medical Leave Regulations—What You Need To Know
Click Here To Read The Complete ArticleBSP Partners With ThinkHR
BSP is committed to innovative and supportive solutions that help you manage your business and not get bogged down by complex compliance concerns or human resource issues.
That’s why we’ve partnered with ThinkHR, a combination of the best live human resource expertise with innovative online technology to deliver trusted HR knowledge solutions. HR professionals use ThinkHR tools to be more effective in their roles, while benefitting from HR compliance tools to build a positive and productive workplace.
ThinkHR provides practical, on-demand Human Resources services to help address the issues that every company confronts in today’s competitive business environment. BSP’s partnership with ThinkHR provides clients with the breadth and depth in all functional areas of Human Resource Management – HR consulting, including compensation, recruiting, training and development.
Click Here To Read The Complete AnnouncementEasy to read article about the benefits of maxing out your HSA plan before your 401(k). HSA plans offer additional long term savings opportunities and can be an integral part of your financial strategy.
Click Here To Read The Complete ArticleBSP Announces Partnership With NeedyMeds To Help Combat Rising Prescription Drug Costs
Click Here To Read The Complete ArticleDOL guidance briefs specific to private employers, non-profits and higher education.
Click Here To Read The Complete ArticleTop 10 Most Common Reasons for going to the doctor; There are steps you can take to improve your health so you can minimize the number of trips you take to the doctor’s office.
Click Here To Read The Complete ArticleBSP is pleased to announce that, in addition to its comprehensive employee benefits brokerage services, HR & Compliance Consulting and guidance is now offered. As a trusted partner for employee benefits, this will help BSP provide a broader spectrum of service and support to you.
Click Here To Read The Complete ArticleEngaged consumers making informed decisions can go a long way to helping control health care costs, and it takes both the consumer and provider to help make it happen.
Click Here To Read The Complete ArticleInterest in Private Exchanges is picking up quite a bit of steam. As the link points out though, there are still many questions about what a Private Exchange is, and whether using an Exchange is a better solution than the current approach of offering benefits. Please contact me if you want to learn more about what a Private Exchange is, and whether it may be a good fit for your company or organization.
Click Here To Read The Complete Article