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Medicare Part D Notices Due by October 15, 2015
Group health plan sponsors must provide Medicare Part D "creditable coverage" notices prior to October 15th, the start date of the Medicare annual enrollment period for Part D, Prescription Drug coverage. (The enrollment period is October 15-December 7.) The Medicare Modernization Act requires group health plan sponsors that offer prescription drug coverage to notify Medicare-eligible plan participants (employees and dependents) as to whether their prescription drug coverage is "creditable coverage" - which means the coverage is expected to pay on average at least as much as the standard Medicare Part D prescription drug coverage.
The October 15th deadline applies for all group health plan sponsors who provide prescription drug coverage, regardless of plan year, plan size, employer size, employer type (private sector, governmental or church), grandfather status, or whether the plan is insured or self-funded.
You can mail the Part D notices or send them electronically to each Medicare-eligible employee who is eligible for your group health plan and to other plan participants (such as COBRA enrollees). For individuals who do not have job-related electronic access, you must either obtain their written consents to receive this Notice electronically or you must furnish them a paper copy of this Notice (you can send them by first class mail).
Although the requirement is only that "Medicare-eligible" individuals be provided this notice, employers often provide it to all plan participants and dependents, because of the practical difficulty of knowing who is Medicare-eligible.
Model Medicare Part D Notices are available on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) website. Links to all the model letters (in English and Spanish) are available here. These notices are in pdf format.
"We feel very passionate about our helping our clients reduce liability and improve their workplace through sound HR and benefits practices."
Sincerely,
Larry Lawman
Lawman Benefits Consulting, Inc.
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HR Update...
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According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the number of available jobs rose to a record high of 5.8 million as of July 2015. Even with those record highs, we are still not at pre-recession 2007 levels. According to SHRM's Leading Indicators of National Employment (LINE) report findings, hiring activity is somewhat stronger in professional and business services and food services.
The trend over the past twelve months shows 2.7 million people have been hired. We are still not seeing a huge amount of job churn or an increase in the "quits rate", but if we continue on this course, organizations will be more confident in investing in their recruitment and retention plans.
HR professionals are very interested in the quits rate because it shows a level of confidence that workers have in the job market. Even though the total number of quits has been increasing overall since the end of the recession, that number has held steady between 2.7 million and 2.8 million for the past 11 months. If the numbers of job openings continue to increase, the rate of quits may also increase. BLS will be watching those numbers for U.S. organizations to help them strengthen their recruiting strategies and ultimately strengthen their workforce planning.
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Market News...
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Benefits Remain a Key Tool for Retention/Recruitment
Contribution limits on 401(k) and flexible spending accounts (FSAs) will probably remain the same or increase only marginally in 2016, as evidenced by recent consumer price index (CPI) reports. The same is likely for annual changes to the amount of income subject to Social Security payroll withholding (FICA), which also is subject to indexing each year based on U.S. inflation rate measures.
In regards to the closely watched 401(k) limits, "The IRS will release the official numbers in October. But inflation has been very low this year, and due to rounding rules I project that, for the most part, the limits in 2016 will stay the same as in 2015," Harry Sit, CEBS, who writes and blogs on financial matters, told SHRM Online. Under rounding rules, limits remained unchanged if statutory price-increase thresholds are not met. Employees may contribute up to $18,000 to their 401(k) plans in 2015, with a higher total contribution limit from all sources (employer and employee) of $53,000. Those ages 50 and over may make an additional "catch-up" contribution of $6,000 this year. Sit said he thinks the odds are good these numbers will stay the same for 2016.
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