Kibble & Prentice Insider

Breach Notification Requirements

The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act, known as the HITECH Act (the Act), was included as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). Subtitle D of the Act imposes new requirements under HIPAA that will impact covered entities and business associates. In particular, the Act creates new notification obligations around certain breaches of protected health information. Download a general overview of the requirements.

Medicare Part D Reminder

The November 15th Medicare Part D creditable coverage notice deadline has just passed. You may have already provided Medicare Part D notices to your employees for this year, but if you have not done so, you will want to do that quickly. See our bulletin from October 2, for further details.

Updated GINA (Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act) Regulations

The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) (Public Law 110-233) was enacted on May 21, 2008. Title I of the Act prohibits discrimination in health coverage based on genetic information.  GINA is effective for plan years beginning on or after May 21, 2009 (January 1, 2010 for calendar-year plans). 

The Departments of Labor, Treasury and Health and Human Services recently issued joint interim final regulations on GINA’s group health plan requirements. These regulations are effective for plan years beginning on or after December 7, 2009 (January 1, 2010 for calendar-year plans). Full Article

Health Risk Assessments - ADA Considerations

Recently, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued an informal letter addressing whether the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits an employer from requiring employees to complete a Health Risk Assessment (Assessment) in order to be eligible for, and receive reimbursement from, a Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA). Full Article

Code Section 79 & Group Term Life Insurance

Review the annual compliance alert detailing general information regarding the tax treatment of group term life insurance. Full Alert

IRS 2010 Plan Limits

October 15, 2009, the Internal Revenue Service announced that there would be no cost-of-living adjustments (COLA) applicable to dollar limitations for retirement plans for 2010. Due to the economy, limits will remain unchanged. Full Article

Requirements for Providing Retirement Plan Documents Electronically

November can be a busy time for retirement plan sponsors who are required to provide documentation and certain notifications to plan participants. Auto-enrollment notices, default investment notices, Safe Harbor funding notices, Summary Plan Descriptions (SPD) are examples of documentation which have historically been provided by delivering paper copies. Now, such documentation may be delivered electronically - as long as certain conditions are met. Full Article

One of the most beneficial services within our risk strategies group is the claims help they can provide. Successful resolution of our clients’ property and casualty claims requires the resources of a team of technical professionals with a wide array of talents. Our team includes experts in business valuation, forensics accounting, engineering, risk management, economics and property appraisal.

A well-established lumber manufacturer suffered a loss of their kiln-control room in a fire. We assisted them by assessing, valuing, documenting and resolving their claim with their insurers, so that our client was able to stay focused on restoring their business operations. Full Story