R&R Insurance Blog

On Monday January 22, 2018, Congress passed HR195 to extend funding for the government through February 8, 2018.  President Trump signed the legislation into law Monday night.  Although this new law was crafted to continue funding the government, it did contain 3 specific items impacting employer sponsored health insurance plans:

• Health Insurance Tax
  • Presently, insured health plans include a premium tax that adds over 2% to the premium rate. This tax is part of the Affordable Care Act.  With the passage of HR195, the Health Insurance Tax will be suspended for 2019.
• Cadillac Tax
  • The Affordable Care Act contained what is often referred to as the “Cadillac Tax”. The tax was originally scheduled to be implemented in 2018.  It would result in a 40% excise tax for health insurance plans with annual costs in excess of $10,200 for single coverage and $27,500 for family coverage.  The tax would be paid by the plan sponsor.  This tax was delayed to 2020 and now, as a result of HR195, it is delayed until 2022.
• Medical Device Tax
  • Manufacturers of medical devices were set to be subjected to a 2.3% tax on their products. Again, this tax was part of the Affordable Care Act.  The passage of HR195 delays the start of this tax for 2 more years.

The new tax law (signed on December 22, 2017) eliminated the individual health insurance mandate penalty starting in 2019.  The employer mandate for Applicable Large Employers (generally companies with 50 or more full-time equivalent employees) and the 1095 reporting continues unchanged.

Employers should be aware of the evolving applicability of existing ACA taxes and fees so that they know how the ACA affects their bottom lines. R&R Insurance Services will continue to keep you informed of changes.

Read here for a more comprehensive list of these current updates. If you have any questions, feel free to contact a Knowledge Broker at 800.566.7007.

Is your organization looking for a way to streamline the audit process for safety and compliance? Do you struggle to create and maintain audits, surveys or questionnaires?

R&R’s Risk Management Center offers an easy-to-use, web-based solution to help manage the audit process from start to finish.

The Audit Track^® provides your organization with the tools you need to proactively manage workplace safety, employee training, IIPP/APP safety program development, and OSHA compliance tracking, reporting and analysis. The tool also allows managers to oversee safety audit, inspection and compliance reporting needs, as well as confirmation that all tasks are assigned, completed and recorded – ensuring your workplace remains safe and compliant.

Completely customizable to your organization, the Audit Track^® allows you to:

• Create custom audits for your organization or department
• Deploy in the field on any major mobile device
• Assign to any employee and track tasks, activities and results
• Access summary and detailed reports based on your criteria
• Track, achieve and demonstrate regulatory compliance
• Target and resolve revealed issues before they become incidents
• Proactively manage your workplace
• Set field audits and surveys to your unique reoccurrence
• Make automated auditing an integral part of your safety strategy
• Keep all Safety Audits, Inspections, Self Assessments and other workplace checklists up-to-date

For more information on R&R’s Risk Management Center and the Audit Track^®, visit www.myknowledgebroker.com/RMC or email Safety@rrins.com.

The Office of Civil Rights (OCR) has proposed to ramp up their Phase II HIPAA audits at some point in 2015. Unlike the initial pilot Phase I audits, the second round will require compliance from the chosen health care account, as well as be expanded to include their “Business Associates.” Business Associates being subcontractors of health care organizations that have business agreements with the selected entity.

These audits will affect between 550-800 covered entities and their associated business partners chosen at random through the National Provider Identifier database.

What will the OCR be looking for?

• Risk analysis and risk management policies
• Content and timeliness of breach notifications
• Notice of privacy practices
• Individual access
• Training procedures
• Device and media controls
• Transmission security (Encryption)

The OCR will use the Phase II Audit findings to identify technical assistance that it should develop for covered entities and business associates. In circumstances where an audit reveals a serious compliance concern, OCR may initiate a compliance review of the audited organization that could lead to civil money penalties.

If you are a health care organization or have a Business Agreement with a health care organization, this may be a good time to review your Network Security Liability coverage with your insurance agent.

Contact our knowledge brokers for more information!