Regulatory Updates

This is a reminder that your 2015 PCORI fee is due July 31, 2016. What is a PCORI fee? The Affordable Care Act (ACA) created the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) to help patients, clinicians, payers and the public make informed health decisions by advancing comparative effectiveness research The Institute’s research is to be funded,…

This morning, the Department of Labor announced its long-awaited final regulations, which are poised to greatly expand the number of employees who are eligible for overtime pay.  This rule will go into effect on December 1, 2016. A Minimum Salary of $47,476 per Year The most significant change is that in order to meet the salary…

On April 28, 2016, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued Revenue Procedure 2016-28 that provides the 2017 inflation adjusted amounts for HSAs. The IRS 2017 contribution limits for HSAs, out-of-pocket maximums and minimum deductible levels for HSA-eligible plans are as follows: 2017 Minimum Deductibles Individual — $1,300 (2016 limit is $1,300) Family — $2,600 (2016…

A final ruling issued by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) updates requirements for the protection of general industry and construction workers against workplace hazards that could injure the eye and/or face by means of flying objects and splashes or spills of hazardous chemicals. The updated standard went into effect April 25 in accordance…

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced the launch of the second phase of its Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) audit program, which focuses on compliance with HIPAA’s Privacy, Security and Breach Notification Rules. Download the full Bulletin on the HIPAA Audit Program > Impact on Employers • The Privacy and Security…

After completing its review of nearly 300,000 comments, the U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL) has submitted its final overtime rule to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), which is the last step in the mandated review process. We know this because notice of the filing was posted March 15 at the reginfo.gov website. Expected Effective Date: July…