Medicare Part D Notices Are Due Before Oct. 15, 2020

Each year, Medicare Part D requires group health plan sponsors to disclose to individuals who are eligible for Medicare Part D and to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) whether the health plan's prescription drug coverage is creditable.

Plan sponsors must provide the annual disclosure notice to Medicare eligible individuals before Oct. 15, 2020 -- the start date of the annual enrollment period for Medicare part D. CMS has provided model disclosure notices for employers to use.

This notice is important because Medicare beneficiaries who are not covered by creditable prescription drug coverage and do not enroll in Medicare Part D when first eligible will likely pay higher premiums if they enroll at a later date. Although there are no specific penalties associated with this notice requirement, failing to provide the notice may be detrimental to employees.

Employers should confirm whether their health plans' prescription drug coverage is creditable or non-creditable and prepare to send their Medicare Part D disclosure notices before Oct. 15, 2020. To make the process easier, employers often include medicare Part D notices in open enrollment packets they send out prior to Oct. 15.

Preparing For an Unprecedented Open Enrollment Period

Open enrollment following the COVID-19 pandemic will be unlike any other in recent memory. Many organizations are still trying to recover from extended closures and maintain safe working environments -- open enrollment is the last thing on their minds. Yet, procrastinating on enrollment planning can actually cause more issues than it solves.

Read this article on how to execute a safe & educational open enrollment >>>

Preparation will be a key factor for a successful open enrollment this year. Employers should talk to stakeholders early and prepare to answer any employee questions Employees will need to know exactly how they will be enrolling, when enrollment is happening and where they can find help. Solidifying this information early will keep everyone on the same page.

DOL Issues Guidance on Tracking Hours of Work for Remote Employees

On Aug. 24, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued Field Assistance Bulletin No. 2020-5 to remind employers of their obligation to accurately account for the number of hours their employees work away from the employer's facilities. While the bulletin was issued in response to the high number of employees working remotely because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the DOL is also reminding employers that the underlying principles apply to other telework or remote work arrangements.

Compensable Time

The federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), requires employers to compensate their employees for all hours of work. Compensable time includes any hours an employee is requested or allowed to work, including telework or remote work.

For remote work situations, the bulletin clarifies that compensable time includes any time during which the employer knows or has reason to believe work is being performed, regardless of whether the work was authorized or requested.

Employer Obligations

As a result, under the FLSA employers have an obligation to track the number of hours their employees work. For this reason, employers must provide reasonable procedures for employees to report any scheduled and unscheduled hours of work. However, the DOL is of the opinion that "if an employee fails to report unscheduled hours of work through a reasonable process, the employer is not required to undergo impractical efforts to uncover unreported hours of work."

Finally, the bulletin emphasized that employers bear the burden of preventing an employee from completing unauthorized or unwanted work.

How to Make Your Job Posting Stand Out

Filling a job vacancy is a big task. Unfortunately, you get only one chance to make a first impression, and the job posting is often your very first contact with the potential employee. But how do you make your job posting stand out above the rest? 

Watch this video and learn five fast tips to make your job posting stand out.

The content herein is provided by HR360.com for general information purposes only, and does not constitute legal, tax, or other advice or opinions on any matters. This information has been taken from sources which we believe to be reliable, but there is no guarantee as to its accuracy.

Employers have needed to change many aspects of their standard operating procedures due to COVID-19, keeping their employees safety front of mind. Reliance on virtual technology is more prevalent than ever, and this includes how employers communicate with employees about their employee benefits. Among the busiest times of year for companies is renewal time for employee benefits.

Think about what your open enrollment meetings look like. Are all employees packed into a room? Are they falling asleep because they are taking the info home to share with their spouse to help, or make, the decision? Maybe you are fortunate enough to split your employees into two groups, so production continues nonstop throughout the day.

The question stands, how will you effectively execute a safe and educational open enrollment this year? 

As a proactive benefits broker, Forsite Benefits believes a crucial part of the solution to a successful open enrollment is utilizing an online benefit election tool. Is your team prepared to offer a virtual open enrollment? 

We asked Velocity Machine's Director of HR to share her story of how switching to an online benefit enrollment platform has her never wanting to go back to paper forms. Here is the video.

Online benefit election platforms provide...

A virtual open enrollment

1. Educates employees and their family members about their employee benefits from the comfort of their home

2. Eliminates the shuffling of papers, exchanging of germs or of personal information

3. Is conveniently accessible 24/7 for employees to elect on their own time

4. Offers uniform employee communication for all employees spread across different locations, parts of the state or country

Happy administrators of employee benefits

1. Distribute required notices electronically and efficiently

2. Can generate an excel file with employee benefit enrollment data to submit to carriers

3. Get reporting for billing reconciliation, payroll deductions, and plan comprehension, demographic reports, work census reports, enrollment summaries, beneficiaries and more

4. Receive real-time open enrollment progress and pre-built reports to track new hires' on-boarding and benefit elections

5. Save time during benefit enrollment and with ongoing management by eliminating paper forms, reducing errors, and creating digital files

Additional advantages of a virtual technology include

1. Availability of open enrollment information in multiple languages, including (most requested) Spanish

2. Ability to house a website link, video, or any employer driven communication piece

3. Expert open enrollment customer support

4. Mobile app access for benefit reference and ID cards

5. Typically cost-neutral

Clearly there are many advantages of utilizing an online benefit election platform, particularly in this day and age. But, along with online benefit election tools, there is another important component to a successful open enrollment environment for this year and years to come.

Choosing the right employee benefits broker and consulting team.

1. A team to help resolve any employee question or concern confidentially

2. Assistance with virtual open enrollment meetings, and voice-overs for educational videos

3. Counselors to educate employees on Medicare options

4. Education on unique populations within your millennial to baby boomer workforce; young families, special needs, COBRA, etc.

At Forsite Benefits & Wellness, we pride ourselves on being forward thinking. We have been offering these hr tools for multiple years, and consistently bring our clients innovative ideas with the employees in mind. To learn more about the multiple online benefit election tools we offer, or any additional employee benefit services, please contact us at info@forsitebenefits.com.