Employee Wellness 
Provide your employees with the latest wellness newsletter with the August edition of Live Well, Work Well. Also available in Spanish.
Educate employees about their benefits with the August Benefits & Me Newsletter.
Important Employer Compliance Deadlines
Gag Clause Attestation
On February 23, 2023, the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services and the Treasury issued FAQs on the prohibition of gag clauses under the transparency provisions of the
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (CAA). These FAQs require health plans and health insurance issuers to submit their first attestation of compliance with the CAA’s prohibition on gag clauses by December 31, 2023.
Plans and issuers must annually submit an attestation of compliance with these requirements. The first attestation is due by December 31, 2023, covering the period beginning December 27, 2020, through the date of attestation. Subsequent attestations, covering the period since the last attestation, are due by December 31 of each following year.
Please see below to learn how our carrier partners are handling these attestations. If you do not see your carrier listed, they have not yet released any information.
Employer Reporting
The IRS has released a rule that substantially expands the requirement to file certain information returns electronically, including the ACA reporting requirements. Starting in 2024, only very small employers can continue reporting to the IRS on paper forms.
Employers that file at least 10 returns during the calendar year must file their ACA returns electronically, beginning with returns required to be filed during 2024. The final rule requires employers to aggregate most information returns, such as Forms W-2 and 1099, to determine if they meet the 10-return threshold for mandatory electronic filing.
Medicare News
CMS Revises Guidance for Drug Price Negotiation Program
Facts about Medicare Part D in 2023
Hospitals are in the Hotseat for their Billing Practices
The Standard to Acquire Anthem's Life & Disability Business
StanCorp Financial Group, Inc. (The Standard) will soon acquire Anthem's life and disability (L&D) business. The contract is expected to close in the first quarter of 2024. To prepare for the transition to The Standard, Anthem is migrating L&D groups to a single enrollment and billing system called Compass. The migration will happen in waves based on your group's renewal date:
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About two months before your migration start date, you will receive letters detailing the changes and outlining the next steps. Click here to see these sample client letters. Some employers will need to sign and return a form to access the Compass self-service tools, and if so, the form will be included with your letter.
This change only impacts L&D plans. There are no changes to Anthem's medical, dental, vision, and supplemental health plans.
