HR & Benefit News

The Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor, and the Treasury released final rules yesterday in regards to the Summary of Benefits and Coverage (SBC) requirement of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.  This requirement states that group health plans must provide participants and beneficiaries a SBC containing specific information about the plan and coverage in plain language.  They must also provide a uniform glossary of terms commonly used in health insurance coverage, as well as notice of material modification of the terms of the plan or coverage. The final rules include changes to a number of requirements proposed in earlier regulations.

The Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) is expected to release final 408b-2 regulations in tomorrow’s Federal Register. In addition to removing the “Interim” tag on the regulations, a few changes were made to the disclosure rules, most importantly, the effective date for compliance was moved back to July 1, 2012.

Employers subject to the reporting requirements of the federal Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) are reminded to post the OSHA Form 300A, Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses, from February 1 to April 30, 2012.

On December 8, 2011, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) issued proposed amendments to Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. The Act requires all contractors and subcontractors ("contractors") who obtain federal contracts in excess of $10,000 to take affirmative action to employ qualified individuals with disabilities. The proposed OFCCP rules seek to strengthen Section 503 by imposing additional requirements upon qualified federal contractors.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has issued new interim guidance, updating and replacing information previously released, on the requirement under the Affordable Care Act that employers report the value of the health insurance coverage they provide employees on each employee's annual Form W-2.
 
Background
The Affordable Care Act requires employers to report the cost of coverage under an employer-sponsored group health plan on employees' Forms W-2. The purpose of the new reporting is to inform employees of the cost of their health coverage. Employer-provided health coverage continues to be excludable from an employee's income, and the amount reported is not taxable for federal income tax purposes.*

To give employers more time to update their payroll systems, the IRS made this requirement optional for all employers for the 2011 Forms W-2 (generally furnished to employees in January 2012).

Previous guidance provided further relief for smaller employers filing fewer than 250 W-2 forms by making the reporting requirement optional for them at least for 2012 (i.e., for 2012 Forms W-2 that generally would be furnished to employees in January 2013), and continuing this optional treatment for smaller employers until further guidance is issued. That guidance also included information about how to report for those employers subject to the requirement for 2012.
 
New Guidance Updates Information on How to Report, Coverage to Include, and Determining Costs of Coverage

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has announced that it intends to propose that items and services required to be covered as "essential health benefits" under the Affordable Care Act, be defined by an existing benchmark health insurance plan to be selected by each state.
 

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has issued the 2012 optional standard mileage rates used to calculate the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business, charitable, medical or moving purposes.

The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment has announced that the minimum wage in Colorado will rise to $7.64 per hour for non-tipped employees and to $4.62 for tipped employees, effective January 1, 2012.

Rich Johnson, owner and CEO of Benefits & Incentives Group, is awarded with the Colorado Group Insurance Association (CGIA) Career Excellence Award.