Alera Group News

IRS Expands HSA Preventive Care Safe Harbor to Include Chronic Conditions On July 17, 2019, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released Notice 2019-45, which expands the definition of preventive care benefits that can be provided by a high deductible health plan (HDHP) to include certain chronic... Find out more »

Alera Group, a leading national insurance firm, today announced  its acquisition of Landmark Benefits, Inc. (Landmark), effective July 1, 2019. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Landmark, located in Windham, New Hampshire, is an employee benefits broker providing comprehensive... Find out more »

Deerfield, IL -- Alera Group, a leading national insurance firm, today announced its acquisition of Austin & Co., Inc. (Austin & Co.), effective July 1, 2019. The firm expands Alera Group’s employee benefits and property & casualty expertise. Terms of the transaction were not... Find out more »

President Trump Issues Executive Order Encouraging Transparency in Pricing and Expanding Consumer-Directed Arrangements On June 24, 2019, President Trump issued an Executive Order intending to develop price and quality transparency initiatives to ensure that healthcare patients can make... Find out more »

DEERFIELD, IL – Alera Group, a national employee benefits, property & casualty, risk management and wealth management firm, appointed Mark Englert as national Property & Casualty Practice Leader. Englert will be responsible for continuing Alera Group’s path toward building... Find out more »

Final Rule Released on Individual Coverage and Excepted Benefit HRAs On June 13, 2019 the Department of Labor, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Treasury Department (the “Departments”) released the final rule concerning health reimbursement arrangements (HRA) for... Find out more »

HHS Proposes Revisions to ACA Section 1557 Regulations At the end of May, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released a proposed rule to revise regulations previously released under Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The HHS goal with the proposed rule is to remove... Find out more »

This alert is of interest to all employers that sponsor group health plans.  Note that employers with “grandfathered” or “grandmothered” plans are not subject to the ACA out-of-pocket limits, although the HSA/HDHP rules still apply if the plan is an HSA-qualified HDHP. In Rev. Proc.... Find out more »

This alert is of interest to all employers that sponsor self-insured group health plans, including Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRAs).  Note that the PCORI fee does not apply to most health FSAs. Employers that sponsor self-insured group health plans, including health reimbursement... Find out more »

Alera Group, a leading national insurance firm, today announced its acquisition of HighRidge Insurance Services (HighRidge), effective May 1, 2019. HighRidge, located in Westlake Village, California, provides employee benefits services to clients throughout the state. With an emphasis in... Find out more »