Benetech, Inc.

07/28/2025

Check out this open enrollment video suitable for most employers! It includes reminders you wish every employee would know!



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Here is a standardized open enrollment video that works in most situations!

08/22/2023

The deadline for issuers to pay medical loss ratio (MLR) rebates for the 2014 reporting year and beyond is Sept. 30. The ACA requires health insurance issuers to spend at least 80 to 85% of their premiums on health care claims and health care quality improvement activities. Issuers that do not meet the applicable MLR percentage must pay rebates to consumers.

Also, if the rebate is a "plan asset" under ERISA, the rebate should, as a general rule, be used within three months of when it is received by the plan sponsor. Thus, employers who decide to distribute the rebate to participants should make the distributions within the three-month time limit.

06/19/2023

July 31 is the deadline for filing IRS Form 720 and paying Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) fees for the previous year. For insured health plans, the issuer of the health insurance policy is responsible for the PCORI fee payment. For self-insured plans, the PCORI fee is paid by the plan sponsor. The PCORI fees were scheduled to expire for policy or plan years ending on or after October 1, 2019. However, a 2019 spending bill extended the PCORI fees for an additional 10 years, through the 2029 fiscal year.
https://zurl.co/wII1

03/17/2023

Preventive health care is essential to stay healthy and lower your health care costs. For example, immunizations are considered preventive care because vaccines help protect you and those around you from diseases like tetanus, measles, chicken pox, seasonal flu and COVID-19.

Preventive care can also help identify health problems like high blood pressure, diabetes or certain cancers earlier, when they’re most treatable. Being proactive and tackling health issues early helps you get or stay on a healthy track, and reduces the risk of developing other health conditions.

Check out the infographic for guidance on preventive services and steps you can take to lead a healthy lifestyle and lower the risk of developing chronic conditions.

02/02/2023

Group health plan sponsors that provide prescription drug coverage to Medicare Part D eligible individuals must disclose to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) whether prescription drug coverage is creditable or not. In general, a plan's prescription drug coverage is considered creditable if its actuarial value equals or exceeds the actuarial value of the Medicare Part D prescription drug coverage. The deadline for calendar year plans is March 1st.

Disclosure is due:

Within 60 days after the beginning of each plan year;
Within 30 days after the termination of a plan's prescription drug coverage; and
Within 30 days after any change in the plan's creditable coverage status. Plan sponsors must use the online disclosure form on the CMS Creditable Coverage webpage. https://zcu.io/qpOU

02/01/2023

Under Section 6056, applicable large employers (ALEs) subject to the ACA's employer shared responsibility rules are required to report information to the IRS about the health coverage they offer (or do not offer) to their full-time employees. ALEs must file Form 1094-C and Form 1095-C with the IRS annually.

Under Section 6055, self-insured plan sponsors are required to report information about the health coverage they provided during the year. Self-insured plan sponsors must generally file Form 1094-B and Form, 1095-B with the IRS annually.

ALEs that sponsor self-insured plans are required to report information to the IRS under Section 6055 about health coverage provided, as well as information under Section 6056 about offers of health coverage. ALEs that sponsor self-insured plans generally use a combined reporting method on Form 1094-C and Form 1095-C to report information under both Sections 6055 and 6056.

All paper forms must be filed with the IRS annually, no later than Feb. 28 ( or March 31, if filed electronically) of the year following the calendar year to which the return relates. Reporting entities that are filing 250 or more returns must file electronically. There is no alternate filing date for employers with non-calendar year plans.
https://zcu.io/xA5g

01/04/2023

Having a cyber incident response plan in place is crucial for any organization. Equally important is the company's response to incidents when they occur. If the business fails to address or act quickly, it could result in some serious damages, not only financially, but their reputation is also on the line. Other consequences may include the exposure of sensitive data, compromised technology, disruptions in business activities, lost business, dissatisfied stakeholders, etc. An effective cyber incident response plan requires coordination and communication across an organization in order to prepare for and mitigate the public fallout, and identify and address ongoing security gaps.

01/03/2023

ALEs subject to the ACA's employer shared responsibility rules must furnish Form 1095-C (Section 6056 statements) annually to their full-time employees. Employers with self-insured health plans that are not ALEs must furnish Form 1095-B (Section 6055 statements) annually to covered employees. Under the ACA, the Forms 1095-B and 1095-C were scheduled to be due on or before January 31 of the year immediately following the calendar year to which the statements relate. Extensions may be available in certain limited circumstances. However, the IRS extended the annual deadline for furnishing employee statements for 30 days from Jan. 31 each year.

01/02/2023

January 31st is the deadline for providing Forms W-2 to employees. The ACA requires employers to report the aggregate cost of employer-sponsored group health plan coverage on their employees' Forms W-2. The purpose is to provide employees with information on how much their health coverage costs. Certain types of coverage are not required to be reported on Form W-2.

This Form W-2 reporting requirement is currently optional for small employers (those who file fewer than 250 Forms W-2). Employers that file 250 or more Forms W-2 are required to comply with the ACA's reporting requirement.
https://zcu.io/OfL3

12/06/2022

With the new calendar year comes a few changes to some pre-tax benefit plan contribution limits and High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP) limits. Check out the 2023 Limits to Know to help you plan and prepare for upcoming health expenses so you can stay healthy and financially well in the new year.

12/02/2022

Educating your employees on the benefits of a health savings account (HSA) is crucial to your strategic benefit plan. Implementing an education strategy doesn't have to be difficult or overwhelming. Empower your employees to make informed benefit decisions and help them protect their health by providing them with the resources to select the best health plan for their needs. Follow this simple flowchart to help guide you and your employees on the path to success with an HSA.

12/01/2022

Open enrollment season is upon us, giving you the opportunity to select the coverage that works best for you for the new plan year. There are some big decisions to be made, and once you make your elections through a cafeteria or Section 125 plan, they cannot be changed. However, there are some qualified life events (QLEs) which enable you to change your elections mid-plan year. So, how can you change your elections midyear?

The midyear election change event must be recognized by the IRS.
The cafeteria plan must permit midyear election changes for that specific qualifying event.
Your requested change must be consistent with the midyear election change event.

For more information, including common examples of qualified life events, check out the infographic, and visit the SHRM website for additional resources: https://zcu.io/IuyB.