Is your business ready for health care reform? The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act enacted comprehensive health insurance reforms that may have a profound impact on your business operations. In Affordable Care Act – Maximizing Health Care Dollars for Small Employers, attorney Michael James examines the requirements and options under the ACA for businesses, including health care tax credits and penalties, the Pay or Play Mandate, health insurance exchanges, SHOPs and much more. Health care reform requires employers to make strategic decisions related to their operations that could ultimately impact their human capital, costs, and long-term success. Read More
Archive for the ‘Health Care + Benefits’:
Reminder: First PCORI Fee Payment Due July 31
June 6th, 2013
Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) Fee / Comparative Effectiveness Fee- UPDATED FORM 720
Reminder: Plan Sponsors of Certain Applicable Self-Funded Health Plans Must Make First PCORI Fee Payment By July 31, 2013
This week, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) posted on its website an updated Form 720 (with a revised date of April 2013) to report and pay the PCORI fee. The fee will be used to partially fund the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute which was implemented as part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Read More
Michigan Snow Birds in Florida: Protecting the Flock During Seasonal Migration
May 29th, 2013
As warm weather returns to Michigan, so too do our State’s snow birds. While in Florida, some of you may have purchased assets or developed relationships with health care professionals. Others of you may have pondered moving to Florida full time or considered investing in Florida real estate. As such, Spring is the perfect time to evaluate your life at the other end of the I-75 corridor and ensure that your current estate plan protects your interests in the Sunshine State. Read More
Affordable Care Act: What Every Business Needs to Know
May 15th, 2013
Below is information provided during a seminar titled, The Affordable Care Act: An Overview of What to Expect, hosted by the Lansing Chamber of Commerce. In this first of three sessions, Fraser Trebilcock Lawyers, along with Blue Cross Blue Shield and Grotenhuis, helped area business leaders to understand the ACA. You can learn more about the session and upcoming sessions here: LRCC Programs on Health Care Reform. Scroll to the bottom for more links related to ACA.
Client Alert: Updated SBC Guidance and Templates for Second Year of Applicability
April 25th, 2013
A group health plan and a health insurance issuer offering group health insurance coverage must provide an SBC to participants and beneficiaries (including COBRA qualified beneficiaries under certain circumstances) with respect to each benefit package offered by the plan or issuer for which the participant or beneficiary is eligible.
Accounting for Accountable Care Organizations
April 23rd, 2013
Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) are organizations of health care providers who provide care to a group of patients. Created in an attempt to decrease the cost of service delivery and increase efficiency, value and profit, these organizations are new territory for the CPA professional. Read More
Health Insurance Exchanges: The Participation Paradox
March 21st, 2013
As state and federal agencies work to create operational health exchanges, one critical question remains unanswered: How will the key stakeholders participate in the new health exchanges? Read More
Employers Be Wary of Upcoming Health Plan Fees
March 21st, 2013
Through the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“Act”), the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (“Institute”) was created to promote research to advance the quality of evidence-based medicine. The Institute is funded through the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Trust Fund, which is financed, in part, by fees paid by plan sponsors of applicable self-insured health plans and issuers of specified health insurance policies. For the first year of applicability, the fee is $1 per covered life and increases for later years.
The first deadline for payment of the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) fee is this July 31, 2013.
Client Alert: Final PCORI Rules – Payment Due July 31st
March 11th, 2013
Please remember that $1/covered life under your health plans must be reported and paid by July 31, 2013. This is applicable for any plan with a plan year that ended on or after October 1, 2012. Please see below for more details. Read More
Michigan Moves One Step Closer to a Federal-State Partnership Health Exchange
March 1st, 2013
On February 27, 2013, the Michigan House Appropriations Committee overwhelmingly approved $30.67 million in federal grant money to establish a State Partnership Exchange. A day later, House Bill 4111, which permits the state to accept the federal grant, passed the Michigan House of Representatives with a vote of 78 to 31. The bill now moves to the Michigan Senate. Read More