Lone Star Benefits Resources

What's the good news, ladies?

Thu, 20 Feb 2020 17:07:58 GMT

Our own "wonder woman," Heather Bowers, was interviewed by Susan Combs and Benefit Pro magazine about some of her success in 2019.

The entire article with all three "wonder women" can be found here: https://www.benefitspro.com/2020/02/18/whats-the-good-news-ladies-february-edition-3/?utm_medium=BenefitsPro&utm_source=SocialFlow&fbclid=IwAR14jeQf-TnnzW4r9_ApkJgM1OPlUjHQtnnp7g8XP85EAuzdk3eMRNhL8ig

But if you just want to see what Heather had to say, read on:

Heather Bowers, Lone Star Benefits, Inc.

2019 was a great year for me! I had been in correspondence with a prospect for three years and they reached out to me in the fall of 2019 and moved their business to me. I was able to pull them out of a disastrous situation that their long-standing broker had moved them to and I helped to rebuild the employee morale by moving them to a reputable benefits solution with a strong carrier. It was a great feeling to see that my persistence paid off and ultimately, it was a win-win for both the client as well as me.

A very exciting part of 2019 was that I was able to save one of my clients $460k annually in premium by moving them to a creative plan strategy while still providing very competitive benefits to their employees.

I was very excited last year to assist a client with launching a full-blown wellness program and seeing the happiness of employees as they began to work with health coaches and started losing weight and eliminating prescriptions that they had been taking for years. It resulted in lower claims cost and ultimately, a much more attractive renewal offering from their carrier.”

State Individual Mandate Reporting Compliance

Thu, 30 Jan 2020 22:22:54 GMT

The federal individual mandate went away, but now states are getting creative.

In 2019, the Federal penalty for not having individual health insurance went away, but six states have taken advantage of this by enacting State mandated coverage. Some did it to try and prevent increases in uninsured residents, some to try and stabilize their insurance market and some did it solely as an additional revenue stream to their state.

Even if you are not based in one of the states, if you have at least one employee working in that state, you have to comply with this. The states are: Massachusetts, New Jersey, Washington, D.C., California, Rhode Island and Vermont. And to complicate matters further, each state has state-specific requirements that must be followed to be in compliance. For plan year 2019, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Washington D.C. have requirements that must be followed and for plan year, 2020, California, Rhode Island and Vermont have requirements that must be met. For state-specific requirements, reach out to us as we will be happy to explain what you must do to be in compliance.

Health insurance too expensive? Not enough interested employees?

Wed, 09 Oct 2019 15:53:58 GMT

Health insurance can be expensive and employees may not be interested, check out the Participation Holiday.

Many employers with less than 50 employees struggle to provide health insurance to their team due to the high cost of coverage. Additionally, when they do offer it, employees aren't always interested in enrolling and so that leaves the employer unable to meet the employee participation requirement that the insurance carriers require. As part of the Affordable Care Act, the insurance carriers offer a "Participation Holiday" one time each year when employees can enroll in coverage and there are no premium contribution requirements for the employer and no participation requirements from the employees. Check out this video on our YouTube channel to learn more: https://youtu.be/NW8jNnjz6Wg

HRA Changes Coming in 2020: What You Need to Know

Fri, 20 Sep 2019 16:17:32 GMT

Looking for a way to offer a benefit to your employee while providing some tax-free savings?

Are you an employer looking for a way to offer a benefit to your employee while providing some tax-free savings?

Starting in 2020, employers will have three different HRA’s (Health Reimbursement Arrangement) that only employers can contribute to. We've put together a very high-level overview of these three different options:

QSEHRAs or Qualified Small Employer HRA- These were first introduced for plan years beginning January 1, 2017 for qualified small employers that do not maintain a group health plan and that are not subject to the employer shared responsibility rules. (large employer mandate) QSEHRAs can reimburse employees individual health insurance premiums and out of pocket medical expenses that fall under Internal Revenue Code Section 213(d), on a tax-free basis, assuming they have active Minimum Essential Coverage during the month of the claim. In 2019, the employer contribution amount is limited to $5,150 per single employee or $10,450 for an employee with a family. Any unused funds can roll over from year to year, but an employee’s total in their account each year will take into account both rollover funds as well as employer contributions, and it may not exceed the statutory dollar limit that is in effect for that year. If an employee is not covered for the entire year, the maximum contribution must be prorated based on the number of months they were covered.

ICHRAs or Individual Coverage HRA- Beginning on January 1, 2020, employers of all sizes can offer an ICHRA to their employees to reimburse employees premiums on a tax-free basis that are actively covered under a qualified individual health insurance plan or Medicare plan. They can also reimburse for all or a designated list of qualified medical expenses that fall under IRC Section 213(d). There are no employer contribution limits per year on an ICHRA. Employers can segment employees into 11 defined classes and provide a different contribution to each class but must provide the same contribution to all employees within the same class. An employer cannot offer a choice between a group insurance plan or an ICHRA to the same class of employees. Any unused funds in an ICHRA can roll over from year to year.

EBHRAs or Excepted Benefit HRAs- Beginning on January 1, 2020, employers of all sizes can offer an EBHRA to their employees. In order to have an EBHRA, an employer is required to offer a group health plan to their employees, but employees can participate in the EBHRA whether they are covered under the employer’s group health plan or not. In 2020, the employer contribution is limited to $1,800. The funds in an EBHRA can be used to reimburse excepted benefits, such as dental or vision insurance, IRC Section 213(d) expenses not covered under the traditional group health plan, premiums and/or cost sharing for short-term limited-duration policies (some exceptions apply), COBRA premiums and/or cost sharing. Any funds remaining in the account can roll over to the next year.

Ready to learn more? Get in touch with a Lone Star Benefits benefits specialist at insurance@LSBinc.com!