Blog

Sign for the Internal Revenue Service Building with part of the government building and tree against blue sky.

Legal Alert: IRS Adjusts Health Flexible Spending Account and Other Benefit Limits for 2024

On November 9, 2023, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released Revenue Procedure 2023-34, which increases the health flexible spending account (FSA) salary reduction contribution limit to...

Legal Alert: HIPAA Privacy Rules Amended to Require Protection of Reproductive Healthcare Information

Legal Alert: HIPAA Privacy Rules Amended to Require Protection of Reproductive Healthcare Information

On April 26, 2024, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) issued a Final Rule amending the HIPAA Privacy Rule to protect the...

Legal Alert: CMS Redesigns the Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Program Beginning in 2025

Legal Alert: CMS Redesigns the Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Program Beginning in 2025

CMS Redesigns the Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Program Beginning in 2025 As a result of the changes to Medicare Part D under §11201 of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, on April 1,...

Top view of business team working around chalkboard with employee benefits text and office tools on table

How To Lower Healthcare Costs While Improving Benefit Offerings

The ideal for anyone managing a group health plan is to enhance the organization’s employee benefits program while somehow also lowering healthcare costs. Alera Group can show you...

A Cautionary Tale: Self-Funded Plan Administrators Must Meaningfully and Effectively Communicate With Plan Participants and Their Providers on Appeal

A Cautionary Tale: Self-Funded Plan Administrators Must Meaningfully and Effectively Communicate With Plan Participants and Their Providers on Appeal

Sponsors of self-funded ERISA plans have fiduciary obligations to plan participants, which includes the obligation to provide a full and fair review of claims and effectively and meaningfully...

SF HCSO Annual Employer Reporting is Back

SF HCSO Annual Employer Reporting is Back

After being waived in 2019 and 2020 due to the pandemic, the San Francisco Health Care Security Ordinance (HCSO) annual employer reporting is back in effect. Employers must report on their 2021...

Have you outgrown your PEO?

Have you outgrown your PEO?

In a company’s early days, engaging a professional employer organization (think TriNet, Sequoia One, or ADP PEO, etc.) is practical. Outsourcing employee management tasks such as employee benefits and payroll...

The Hazards of Making a Health Plan Exception

The Hazards of Making a Health Plan Exception

Allowing health plan changes outside of open enrollment without a permitted mid-year election change is risky. Doing so may lead to the following: 1. Cancellation of your group health insurance...

Open Enrollment: Employee Spending Account Education

Open Enrollment: Employee Spending Account Education

It's peak open enrollment season at Lumity, and I wanted to share one of my favorite PowerPoint presentations. It's an employee education deck around spending accounts.  During open...