Alera Group News

On July 24, 2020, President Trump issued several Executive Orders intending to lower prescription drug costs by (1) modifying anti-kickback laws to lower drug prices, (2) reducing trade barriers to increase importation of drugs and lower prices, and (3) improving access to insulin and epinephrine... Find out more »

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has released Rev. Proc. 2020-36, which contains the inflation adjusted amounts for 2021 used to determine whether employer-sponsored coverage is “affordable” for purposes of the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) employer shared responsibility... Find out more »

U.S. Supreme Court Upholds Final Rules Allowing Employer-Sponsored Health Plans to Decline to Cover Contraceptives Due to Moral or Religious Objections On July 8, 2020, the United States Supreme Court upheld the Final Rules issued by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that exempt... Find out more »

Alera Group is excited to announce that Jim Wochele has recently been appointed as its national Vice President of Sales Development, effective June 29, 2020. Wochele will oversee sales training & development, strategy and execution across the United States. Wochele is an accomplished... Find out more »

On June 12, 2020, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) released its Final Rule under Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act which, among other things, modifies the regulation issued by HHS in May 2016 (“2016 Rules”).  The 2016 Rules were subject to... Find out more »

As we recently reported, on June 8, 2020, the IRS released the applicable PCORI fee for plan years ending between October 1, 2019 and September 30, 2020.  As we indicated in that alert, an updated Form 720 had not yet been released and, therefore, employers were advised to wait to file their... Find out more »

One-Third of All Employers Furloughed Employees Yet Nearly 85% Plan to Bring Back Workers Alera Group, a national employee benefits, property and casualty, retirement services and wealth management firm, today released the results of the Alera Group COVID-19 Employer Pulse Survey: Phase 2.... Find out more »

Employers that sponsor self-insured group health plans, including health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs) should keep in mind the upcoming July 31, 2020 deadline for paying fees that fund the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI).  As background, the PCORI was established as... Find out more »

In Rev. Proc. 2020-32, the IRS released the inflation adjusted amounts for 2020 relevant to HSAs and high deductible health plans (HDHPs).  The table below summarizes those adjustments and other applicable limits.   2021... Find out more »

Due to COVID-19 and state and local stay-at-home orders, utilization of group medical and dental insurance benefits is down.  As a result, some carriers recently notified employers that they will be issued premium credits. When asking how these premium credits should be treated by the... Find out more »