HCW Benefits Blog

Contributor:
W.Hunter Walton, JD, Principal, Health & Welfare Consultant
Hill, Chesson & Woody

Many employers use staffing agencies to provide workers for short-term projects and tasks and to supplement their full-time permanent workforce. This common practice has always been a convenient way to outsource labor and to avoid the complicated administrative processes of hiring temporary employees.  However, with the new shared employer responsibility mandate that goes into effect on January 1, 2014 as a part of the Affordable Care Act, staffing agencies are beginning to adapt to a new set of rules and regulations.

Traditionally, employers who utilize staffing agencies for temporary employees pay a fee to the staffing agency and are paired with an applicant. The staffing agency then pays the applicant, the associated taxes, and in some instances will offer benefits. There has often been no question that while the applicant may work on projects for the company hiring them through the staffing agency, the staffing agency is the employer and is responsible for complying with the laws pertaining to employee/employer relationships.

Contributor
Steve Byrd, Principal, Health & Welfare Consultant
Hill, Chesson & Woody

Two similar-sounding yet distinct provisions in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) are causing much confusion among people seeking healthcare coverage. The terms, “essential health benefits” and “minimum essential coverage,” require considerable explanation in order to be fully understood.

As a quick overview, essential health benefits are the core required elements of a health plan under PPACA, while minimum essential coverage refers to the types of health plans themselves that will satisfy PPACA’s requirements. Here are their essential differences. 

Essential Health Benefits 
According to the act, essential health benefits consist of 10 categories that must be covered by all health insurance plans offered through an exchange. These categories are:

Contributor:
Vicki L. Norris, Director of Marketing & Communications
Hill, Chesson & Woody

Recently the Triangle Business Journal’s annual 40 Under 40 Award’s request for nominations came across my desk. This year, it was a no-brainer.  I was inspired to give a shout out to one of my favorite people… our (though everyone knows I like to claim her to myself and call her “mine”) Marketing Specialist, Stephanie Clark. 

Why Stephanie? There are so many great lessons we learn through life.  For those of us that take much pride in our careers, the ones we learn from our working days are held in high regard.  Working with Stephanie has inspired me to look within myself; to strive for the qualities that I respect so much in her.  I didn’t have to look hard to identify some important lessons she has taught me.

Out-Do Yourself

Great employees have the stamina to do outstanding work. They set the pace for others to follow. If you want to be great at what you do, look for ways to outdo yourself. Be the best you can be. Even if perfection is elusive, go out and get it. Even if you fall short of perfection, your near perfect would have pushed you further than you would have thought possible.

Contributor:
Ellen Tucker, CMCE, Principal, Health & Welfare Consultant
Hill, Chesson & Woody

This year it is crucial for employers to have a clear understanding of the timeline of each of the components in healthcare reform and a defined strategy around them. It is evident that, while there is change on the horizon, even more change will occur as employers, insurance carriers and members react to the new options and requirements at hand.

As employers are considering these issues, PricewaterhouseCoopers has released its annual list of the top 10 issues for the healthcare industry, and the topics include a few items of particular importance for employers. This is the list, followed by the implications for employers: