To prepare for open enrollment, group health plan sponsors should be aware of the legal changes affecting the design and administration of their plans for plan years beginning on or after Jan. 1, 2020. Employers should review their plan documents to confirm that they include these required changes.

In addition, any changes to a health plan’s benefits for the 2020 plan year should be communicated to plan participants through an updated summary plan description (SPD) or a summary of material modifications (SMM).

Health plan sponsors should also confirm that their open enrollment materials contain certain required participant notices, when applicable—for example, the summary of benefits and coverage (SBC). There are also some participant notices that must be provided annually or upon initial enrollment.

Important Notices

• Annual CHIP notice
• Medicare Part D creditable coverage notice
• Notice of grandfathered status (if applicable)
• Annual notice regarding coverage requirements for mastectomy-related benefits (WHCRA notice)

In mid-July, Capital One announced that the personal information of more than 100 million of its U.S. customers was compromised in one of the largest data breaches involving a bank.

In an official release from the company, Capital One noted that the information exposed includes names, addresses, emails, credit scores and transaction data. In some cases, Social Security numbers and linked bank accounts of secured credit card customers were also compromised.

Although this data breach was one of the largest data breaches involving a bank, it’s just one of 3,500 data breaches experienced by the financial sector so far this year. This staggering number of attacks communicates the relentlessness of cyber criminals.

As the number of cyber attacks continues to climb, it’s time that your organization evaluates its cyber security policies and practices. Companies must ensure that they’re complying with and promoting cyber security guidelines at their organization to help protect their data. 

In July, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) proposed rules that would require all Medicare-participating hospitals to post their negotiated prices for standard health care services.

The proposed rule is intended to increase pricing transparency and help consumers understand the charges they may incur before receiving care.

These are just proposed rules at the moment, which means no changes will be made effective until the rules are finalized. The agency is currently asking for comments on the proposed rule. The deadline for submitting comments is Sept. 27, 2019.

We will continue to monitor and keep you updated on these developments.

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 a potential employee. But how do you make your job posting stand out above the rest? Watch the video below to learn five fast tips to make your job posting stand out.

For more helpful recruitment tips, check out our Recruitment & Hiring section.