We offer an employee handbook builder through ThinkHR.  Please let us know if you have any questions.Top 10 Policies You Need in Your Employee Handbook:At-will employment: You can destroy the at-will employment relationship through promises made in an employee handbook. Including this policy reinforces the at-will nature of employment. It should also state that the h... [read full post]

Under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), each Health Insurance Exchange (Marketplace) must notify employers when they have an employee who has received a government subsidy to enroll in a health plan through the Marketplace. These notices will begin being sent to employers in the coming weeks and months, either individually or in batches. Because the notice procedure is being phase... [read full post]

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) created a new requirement for employers to provide employees with a written Notice of Exchange/Marketplace. Which Employers Must Provide the Notice: All employers subject to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), regardless of whether or not they provide coverage, have a legal obligation to provide the notice to their employees.... [read full post]

The Washington State Insurance Commissioner has released the below information regarding healthcare rates for 2014.  Many sources have speculated a high increases in rates – especially for individual plans – due in part to the long list of plan mandates to be required in 2014.  The WA OIC, though, is suggesting that rates wonâ... [read full post]

One of the provisions of health reform included in the Affordable Care Act (PPACA) is the requirement that employers report the value of employee health coverage on the annual W-2 form.  Many questions have arisen regarding the use of a tax-reporting document to report health premiums that are, generally, not taxable income for an employee. The IRS has offered numerous assurances that this... [read full post]

Starting September 23, 2012, health insurance issuers and group health plans will be required to provide eligible participants with an easy-to-unders... [read full post]

As part of the Affordable Care Act, the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) has adopted new guidelines for women’s preventive services that will be covered at 100% (and not subject to the deductible).  These changes go into effect for non-grandfathered plans when your plan renews on or after August 1, 2012.Health Resources and Services Administration ... [read full post]

Parents: If you need individual coverage for your children, open enrollment is NOW Open enrollment for individual health plans started Sept. 15 and runs through Oct. 31. (Individual health plans are those bought by individuals, as opposed to health plans offered by employers or groups.)We can't say this enough: If you need health insurance for your child, make sure y... [read full post]

On August 1, 2011, the Department of Health and Human Services released an amendment to the Interim Final Regulations for preventive care under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). The amendment applies to non-grandfathered individual insurance policies as well as non-grandfathered insured and self-insured group health plans. The amendme... [read full post]

There are some HSA plan changes currently being discussed in Washington D.C (in the form of S. 1098 & H.R. 2010).  They would allow some improvements to the current HSA laws such as:Giving spouses the chance to make catch-up contributions to the same HSA. Eliminating discriminatory provisions against Medicare-eligible seniors so that they can continue to contribute to their HSAs. ... [read full post]

As a result of federal healthcare reform, individual plans have changed their guidelines for adding children under the age of 19.  They can now be added at the following times only: Open Enrollment Periods:            March 15th – April 30th, 2011 (for a May 1st effective date) September 15th – October 31st, 2011 (... [read full post]