Supreme Court Declines to Expedite ACA Case
The United States Supreme Court denied motions to expedite consideration of Texas v. Azar, the lawsuit challenging the constitutionality...
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Karl J. Ruth Jr.
Mar 18, 20201 min read
Blue Cross is waiving cost sharing for telehealth medical services
What you need to know Today, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan is publicly announcing that they will waive cost sharing on telehealth...
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Karl J. Ruth Jr.
Mar 10, 20201 min read
HHS Increases Civil Penalties for HIPAA Violations
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently published a final rule increasing the civil monetary penalties for violations...
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Karl J. Ruth Jr.
Feb 27, 20201 min read
Transitional Health Plans - Extended Again. 6 years Running!
Transitional plans can stay in force until December 2021. That is if states and carriers allow it! This marks the seventh extension of...
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Karl J. Ruth Jr.
Jan 15, 20201 min read
Final Rule on Hospital Price Transparency Released
On Friday, November 15, 2019, the Trump administration released its final rule regarding hospital price transparency. This final rule...
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Karl J. Ruth Jr.
Jan 6, 20201 min read
New Summary of Benefits and Coverage Template Will Be Required for 2021
Recently, the Departments of Labor (DOL) and Health and Human Services (HHS) issued an updated template and related materials for the...
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Karl J. Ruth Jr.
Nov 7, 20191 min read
IRS Releases 2020 Health FSA
The IRS has released Revenue Procedure 2019-44 which details the 2020 pre-tax limits for the Health FSA and Commuter Plans. These limits...
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Karl J. Ruth Jr.
Sep 10, 20191 min read
Open Enrollment: What’s Changing in 2020?
To prepare for open enrollment, group health plan sponsors should be aware of the legal changes affecting the design and administration...
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Karl J. Ruth Jr.
Jul 24, 20192 min read
HOW DOES MAKING YOUR EMPLOYEES 4X HAPPIER WITH THEIR JOB SOUND?
Benefit Communication Made Easy When they’re satisfied with their benefits, employees are 4x more likely to be very satisfied with their...
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Karl J. Ruth Jr.
Jul 22, 20192 min read
HSA benefits for chronic conditions expanded by IRS
On Wednesday July 17th, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) added care for a range of chronic conditions to the list of preventive care...
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Karl J. Ruth Jr.
Jul 19, 20192 min read
Cadillac Tax Repeal - Passed House On To Senate
Late Wednesday (July 17th) House lawmakers passed legislation to repeal the Cadillac tax, the Affordable Care Act's tax on high-cost...
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Karl J. Ruth Jr.
Jul 18, 20191 min read
Lowest Unemployment in Decades
Job figures continued to rise in April, officially bringing unemployment to its lowest in 50 years—3.6%, according to the Bureau of Labor...
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Karl J. Ruth Jr.
Jun 24, 20191 min read
HRAs To Be Used On Individual Coverage
The U.S. Department of the Treasury, Labor, and Health and Human Services (tri-agencies) issued a final ruling on June 12, 2019 allowing...
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Karl J. Ruth Jr.
Jun 18, 20191 min read
Blue of Michigan Changes Dental Benefits Administrator
Effective November 1, 2019, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan will be entering into a new partnership with DentalQuest as their dental...
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Karl J. Ruth Jr.
Jun 7, 20191 min read
2020 Health Savings Account Limits
Revenue Procedure 2019-25 was issued by the IRS on May 28, 2019 setting new dollar limitations for Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) and...
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Karl J. Ruth Jr.
Apr 17, 20194 min read
What's Next! - Medicare Coverage Rules
As more and more older Americans stay in the workforce, employers may have questions about how employees’ Medicare entitlement impacts...
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Karl J. Ruth Jr.
Mar 28, 20192 min read
Employee Benefits Can Save On Taxes
Companies have until April 15, 2019 to submit corporate tax returns for income received in 2018. Businesses may use Form 1120 or request...
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Karl J. Ruth Jr.
Mar 26, 20192 min read
CMS Extends Transitional Health Plans....AGAIN
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has once again allowed insurers and states to renew so-called transitional health...
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Karl J. Ruth Jr.
Mar 11, 20192 min read
DOL Proposes New Overtime Rule
On March 7, 2017, the Department of Labor (DOL) proposed an increase in the salary-level threshold for white-collar exemptions from...
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Karl J. Ruth Jr.
Mar 4, 20193 min read
Told your Account Manager is Changing Again?
As employers who provide group health care coverage to their employees know, the agency in which they place their insurance through plays...
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