NFP's Insights from the Experts

In this episode, Chase Cannon and Suzanne Spradley look at recent DOL FFCRA guidance. Chase outlines new DOL FAQs on how the FFCRA impacts coverage of COVID-19 testing without cost sharing and expansion of telehealth coverage. Chase and Suzanne dig in on some new guidance for wellness programs in the pandemic environment. The two discuss a new DOL field assistance bulletin on whether summer camps...

In this episode, Suzanne Spradley and Chase Cannon review policy recommendations to Congress relating to employer sponsored coverage, emphasizing ideas that would help employers get back to work during the COVID-19 pandemic. Suzanne leads off discussing COBRA subsidies for those who lost or will lose employer coverage due to a furlough or layoff. Suzanne and Chase then turn their attention to dire...

In our latest Insight from the Experts podcast, NFP's Head of Innovation, Mark Rieder, sits down with Jason Hellickson, CEO of Regenexx, to discuss their proprietary orthobiologic procedures that have created a new medical specialty platform called interventional orthopedics. This orthopedic healthcare innovation is less costly, less invasive and less risky than traditional orthopedic surgery. Pla...

In this episode, Chase Cannon and Suzanne Spradley recap the 10-year extension of the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research (PCOR) fee, which is now set to run through 2029. Chase digs into the background of the PCOR Institute, the non-profit organization funded by the PCOR fee, which supports clinical effectiveness research, including studies on treatments and outcomes for a wide variety of conditio...

We all agree that our greatest assets are our people. So, are you providing the value-creators in your organization with the programs that will keep them coming back? Are you ensuring that you can recruit top talent? Are you helping your highly-compensated population prepare for a successful retirement? Are you providing them with benefits that are proportional to the compensation they earn? Learn...

In this episode, Suzanne Spradley and Chase Cannon revisit the single payer debate in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Suzanne starts by exploring whether support for a single payer system in the US has waxed or waned during the pandemic. Chase and Suzanne then discuss articles from experts, and comparisons across different countries, regarding governmental versus private company response to...

FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn was quoted at a recent White House Coronavirus Task Force press briefing emphasizing that in the “sea of new treatments” we need to connect “the right drug to the right patient at the right dosage at the right time. As an example, we may have the right drug, but it may not be in the appropriate dosage form right now, and that may do more harm than good. Those are the...

In this episode, special guest Geoff Seibel, VP of NFP Actuarial Services, joins Chase Cannon to discuss the impact of COVID-19 on fully and self-insured plan costs. Geoff starts by addressing the cost impact for fully insured plans, including differences for small and large group markets. Chase and Geoff then discuss actual COVID-19-related costs, including the difference in costs for COVID-19 pa...

Employers across the country are busy crafting their Return to Work strategies. Strategies which include things like PPE, office spacing, testing, assessments and vital sign monitoring. But what about planning for an increase in workplace violence? These are unprecedented times and “business as usual” has been replaced by fear, uncertainty and doubt. In our latest Insight from the Experts podcast,...

In this episode, Suzanne Spradley and Chase Cannon look at benefits issues relating to returning to work, as companies begin mulling reopening and bringing back employees. The two start with a discussion of benefit eligibility, COBRA and premium payments relating to furloughs and layoffs, as the employer’s decisions then impact issues to consider upon returning to work. Suzanne then outlines some...

One Key Takeaway: Status matters when deciding whether to furlough or terminate employees during this pandemic. SME/Speaker: Chase Cannon and Kyle Healy

futureWork captures and interprets the data that surrounds every worker to improve health and safety. And now with COVID-19 they are now helping companies record and report employee temperatures. Join us for this episode as Head of Innovation Mark Rieder, sits down with Lars Skari, cofounder of futureWork, to discuss how wearables can help Americans get back to work.

In this episode, Chase Cannon and Suzanne Spradley dive back into common COVID-19 questions. The two start with process and documentation of employee leave requests under the FFCRA, including recordkeeping for employers to claim the FFCRA tax credits. Chase then outlines several different buckets of developments at the state level, including paid sick, family, and medical leave changes on account...

In this episode, Suzanne Spradley and Chase Cannon discuss recent questions popping up from employers regarding the FFCRA, COVID-19 and furlough situations. Suzanne outlines the issues to consider in determining if FFCRA applies, including factors in employee counts to determine if an employer is above or below the 500-employee threshold and whether the 50-employee small exception is automatic. Su...

In this episode, Elizabeth Allen and Patrick Myers address some of the benefits compliance questions swirling around the issue of the coronavirus pandemic. The two briefly discuss the virus and go into more detail on the employee benefits laws that employers must consider as they make business decisions concerning the virus. Specifically, they discuss the coronavirus and its implications under the...

In this episode, Suzanne Spradley and Chase Cannon address the hot issue of surprise medical billing. Suzanne outlines what is a surprise medical bill and how common of an issue it is to receive one. Suzanne and Chase discuss the challenges for patients that receive out-of-network provider services and bills at in-network facilities. Suzanne outlines three different bills that address surprise med...

In this episode, Chase Cannon and Suzanne Spradley address two lawsuits, and discuss some new state employer reporting obligations. The first lawsuit relates to one covered in Episode 66 on COBRA notice failures—the Sixth Circuit weighed in and overturned the District Court on whether a change in the premium payment turns constitutes a COBRA triggering event. The second lawsuit relates to the ACA’...

In this episode, Suzanne Spradley and Chase Cannon look at three recent lawsuits, two of which are class action suits, against employers relating to COBRA notice failures. Suzanne describes the lawsuits, and explains that the failures related to the content of the notices themselves, rather than the more common issue of failure to send COBRA notices. Suzanne outlines the particular failures, and h...

In this episode, Chase Cannon and Suzanne Spradley review the end-of-2019 spending bill, which includes several provisions relating to employee benefits and group health plan/employer compliance. Chase starts by describing the bill, and then jumping in on a discussion relating to the full repeal of the Cadillac Tax. The two then discuss the health insurance tax (HIT), and the impact of its repeal...

In this episode, Suzanne Spradley and Chase Cannon dig in to the issue of health care costs in the U.S. as compared to other countries. Suzanne begins the discussion by outlining the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) data that has been tracking the cost of health systems in the world since 1986. Suzanne explains the different factors and variances, and the importance of...

In a welcome turn of events, the DOL has proposed a new rule that would allow for electronic disclosure of many retirement plan documents. Beth Allen and Carol Wood discuss the proposed rule — beginning with how the DOL got to this point, explaining the details of the rule, and highlighting the rule’s limited application. Ultimately, the discussion will give retirement plan sponsors a better idea...

In this episode, Chase Cannon and Suzanne highlight four considerations to help avoid compliance issues resulting from open enrollment periods. First, Chase outlines the importance of documenting offers and waivers of coverage, and how that can help employers avoid IRS scrutiny and employee misunderstandings. Second, Chase and Suzanne discuss challenges that can arise during open enrollment on HSA...

In this episode, Suzanne Spradley and Chase Cannon dig in to a trending topic, particularly for self-insured plans: reference-based pricing (RBP). Suzanne begins with a description of RPB, including an example to help illustrate how it works. Next, Suzanne explains the process and the pros and cons of RBP, which leads to a discussion on pricing and billing, including balance billing to unsuspectin...

In this episode, Chase Cannon and Suzanne Spradley look at a few ACA topics that are a bit up in the air. The first is the health insurance tax (HIT), a tax on health insurance carriers that has been on and off moratorium the past few years, but is coming back into effect for 2020. Chase breaks down the HIT, its impact on health insurance rates and on employers and employees, and whether Congress...

In this episode, Suzanne Spradley and Chase Cannon examine one argument that is put forth by proponents of a single payer system — that because Medicare is purportedly more administratively efficient, that a single payer system in the U.S. would reap huge savings and reduce overall health care costs. Suzanne breaks down the estimated administrative costs of Medicare (claimed 2% of total costs) ver...