In mid-March when Discover Financial Services made the decision to put safety first, it meant quickly devising a plan to move 8,000 call center agents from their cubicles in 4 different regional facilities to their homes. Infrastructure services and customer service teams worked 24/7 to develop work-from-home kits consisting of monitors, keyboards and cables, then [...]
According to the CDC, the Coronavirus is thought to spread mainly through being close enough to an infected person to be touched by respiratory droplets discharged by coughing, sneezing or talking. These droplets can land in the mouth or nose or be inhaled into the lungs. Physicians suggest the virus can spread very easily between [...]
Uninsured people needing medical treatment for the coronavirus will be able to get that treatment without concerns about out-of-pocket costs or unexpected charges. Thanks to the federal stimulus package passed by Congress in early April, hospitals and healthcare providers that treat these folks will be paid for unreimbursed care at current Medicare rates. While the [...]
The annual fee to fund the federal Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), paid by employers that sponsor self-insured health plans and by commercial group health insurance providers, will go up by .09 cents per employee or dependent enrolled in the health plan from $2.45 (filed July 31, 2020) to $2.54 (filed July 31, 2021). The [...]
The Internal Revenue Service released its 2021 Health Savings Account Inflation Adjustment Limits. A comparison of the 2021 and 2020 limits are listed below. The ACA maximum out-of-pocket limits have also been adjusted. The ACA uses a different adjustment calculation than the IRS when setting HSA limits year over year.
The Kaiser Family Foundation reports that annual premiums for employer-based, family coverage increased to $20,576 in 2019. This represents a one year increase of about 5 percent and a pattern of similar increases each year throughout the past decade, significantly outpacing the rate of annual inflation over the same period.
Two local high school students, Aleia Goodison and Vincent Scileppi, are raising money to ensure kids don’t go hungry this summer. They’ve started a fundraising program called Pizza 4 Pals and 100% of the funds raised will provide meals for students in Middletown, CT. Their mission is to feed children during the summer months who [...]
On May 12, 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) issued two notices, Notice 2020-29 and Notice 2020-33, providing relief and guidance to employers sponsoring Section 125 cafeteria plans, health flexible spending accounts, dependent care assistance programs, and qualified high deductible health plans. Notice 2020-29 provides increased flexibility for cafeteria [...]
MetLife recently released a report showing that an increasing number of employers believe that personal finance has become the main source of stress for their employees. Lack of an emergency fund, student loan repayment and a need for advice top the list of concerns... and this was prior to the Coronavirus crisis. Knowing that no [...]
Nearly 1 in 5 U.S. adults live with a mental illness. Since it has become virtually impossible to avoid a condition at work, here are some of the factors involved. First, professionals tell us that multiple cycles can impact health and productivity in different ways. Conditions can trigger at any time and while early symptoms [...]
