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President Joe Biden’s administration recently extended access to the Special Enrollment Period (SEP) for the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to Aug. 15, from the previously announced end date of May 15.  

This direction comes after the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) opened this SEP for the Health Insurance Marketplace on Feb. 15, resulting in over 200,000 enrollments in the first two weeks. 

American Rescue Plan ACA Subsidies

This extension comes shortly after increased ACA subsidies were included as part of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), which temporarily increases

The Massachusetts Paid Family Medical Leave law has been in effect for a month now, but many employers and employees are still looking for answers and additional information.

The Basics

Beginning in January and July 2021, depending on the type of leave, all employers must provide eligible employees with up to:

12 weeks of paid family leave (26 weeks to care for a service member);
20 weeks of paid medical leave; and
26 weeks of combined paid family and medical leave.

The state PFML program is financed by a payroll tax (0.75% on the first $132,000

The health savings account (HSA) is a growing trend in health care, but is it right for you? An HSA is a cost-effective option for many individuals and families, but it is not the best choice for everyone.

The Differentiators

Comparing an HSA to any traditional health plan can be difficult, as each has pros and cons. For example, traditional health plans typically have higher monthly premiums, a smaller deductible, and fixed copay and/or coinsurance. You pay less out-of-pocket due to the lower deductible and copay, but pay more each month in

2019 will be the year that many employers learn more about the possible devastating effects of the MassHealth Premium Assistance Program!  Will you be one of them?

Let’s hope not because this program could increase a company’s total benefits line item, which in most cases is already out of control.  “Premium Assistance Program” sounds like a good thing, right? Wrong. Do not let title of the program mislead you.  Not many people realize what the impact this program could have on companies.

I was recently talking to a State official about the

Have you filed your Health Insurance Responsibility Disclosure form yet?  Time is running out, it must be completed by November 30, 2018.   Some of you will remember the old HIRD form from 2006.  That was a nightmare to fill out it and it required an employee form and an employer form for every employee.   The good news is this 2018 version is nothing like that and, for the most part, is easy to fill out once you gather the necessary information.

The Department of Revenue has put out a question &

Massachusetts’ law is now imposing a penalty on employers with employees enrolled in subsidized health coverage, like MassHealth in place of an employer’s plan. These modifications are hitting employers hard!  This act, passed in August 2017 is now effective for wages paid as of January 1, 2018 and expires at the end of calendar year 2019.  It boils down to this simple fact: the State has a deficit paying for MA Health and the EMAC charge is the intended answer to that problem.  Read below to understand how these charges break

As an employer, providing Benefits to your employees can be quite an undertaking.  Understanding the available coverages can be   and the wildly confusing terminology associated with getting the right coverage can easily leave you scratching your head.  You can try the “do it yourself” method and perhaps you’ll have the right coverage, however, if you don’t have a trusted advisor like FBinsure to explain the things you need to know, you may find out too late that it wasn’t quite right.  One such topic is understanding the difference between a Fully

Massachusetts continues to struggle to find a way to pay for MassHealth.  On August 1, Governor Charlie Baker signed into law H.3822.  This law is expected to raise 200 million.  Massachusetts are combined into a single program called MassHealth. MassHealth covers about 1.9 million low income, minor and disabled Massachusetts residents, and it costs about $15.6 billion annually.

The following blog was posted with permission from Benemax.

On August 1, 2017, Governor Baker signed into law H.3822, increasing the existing Employer Medical Assistance Contribution (EMAC) and imposing a new assessment on employers

Clients and friends are always asking me “Can we have a PPO?”  Most local companies only offer an HMO, but there are advantages to a PPO. This does not mean that a PPO is for everyone.

Here are the pros and cons of a PPO:

These are the major differences between an HMO and a PPO. Most of the time the higher cost of the PPO makes the decision to sign up for one very easy.  The theory is why pay more when the benefits are not normally any better and in

Picking your insurance agent is like voting for a presidential candidate.  You have to weigh the benefits that they offer and pick the one agent that best represents your needs.  This year we vote for the next President of The United States.   Over the last 18 cantankerous months each has campaigned across the country conveying their position on a multitude of issues.  You might ask why we are blogging about the election when we are in the home stretch.  Here is why we feel that it is important to