Insurance

Can we require proof of a same-sex marriage?

09/07/2015

Q. We received our first request for a same-sex spouse to be covered under our insurance. We’re fine doing this, as long as they are actually married. (We don’t cover domestic partners.) Can we ask for proof of marriage even if we don’t ask it from opposite-sex spouses? I’d like to create a policy that says if your last name is different than your spouse you wish to cover, we need proof of marriage. Is that legal?

Consumer-driven health plan satisfaction rising

08/20/2015

People with health insurance continue to express higher satisfaction with traditional health plans compared with so-called “consumer-driven” plans, but the satisfaction gap appears to be narrowing, according to new research from the Employee Benefit Research Institute.

Revisiting domestic-partner coverage after Obergefell

08/13/2015

When the U.S. Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage nationwide, plenty of HR pros started to wonder: Do we even need to offer health benefits to employees’ domestic partners anymore?

Cutting hours to dodge ACA may violate ERISA

08/11/2015

In the brave new benefits world defined by Obamacare, a new creature has sprung forth: the ERISA challenge.

IRS releases 2016 HDHP/HSA limits

08/10/2015

In 2016, IRS rules will allow employees with self-only coverage under high-deductible health plans to continue contributing up to $3,350 to health savings accounts. The minimum annual deductible for an HDHP remains $1,300. Maximum out-of-pocket expenses increase $100, to $6,550.

Absence alone isn’t grounds to deny unemployment comp

07/24/2015

Employees discharged for being absent may still be eligible for unemployment compensation. That’s because employees must have committed willful misconduct to lose the right to benefits. An employee fired for missing work because he couldn’t call in or otherwise comply with his employer’s call-off procedure, for example, would still be eligible.

Health benefits alternative: HSA balances growing

07/23/2015

Average health savings account balances increased from $1,408 to $1,933—up about 37%—in 2014, according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute.

No excuse for tardiness? No unemployment, either

07/22/2015

Employers have the right to expect their employees will generally show up for and leave work as scheduled. Workers who, without a good reason, are frequently late or leave early aren’t eligible for unemployment compensation if they’re fired. Those absences, even if largely unintentional, are misconduct.

Wellness up as employers combat health costs

07/21/2015

With health care costs rising and Affordable Care Act compliance efforts in full swing, employers are turning toward wellness programs to counter some of the financial strain.

After Obergefell, employers must ask: What to do about domestic-partner benefits?

07/14/2015

Domestic-partner benefits sprouted up in the 1990s because same-sex marriage wasn’t legal in most states. But following the Supreme Court’s landmark Obergefell v. Hodges decision last month, there are no more legal barriers to same-sex marriages nationwide …