Wisconsin Employee Benefits Deadline Extended

June 11th, 2007 Posted by Amelia

As health care costs rise, employee health benefits are on the mind of almost every American. Over 1.5 million workers in the United States are covered under group health insurance plans.  It is an attractive benefit that many workers value.

Recently President Bush signed a law that will affect Wisconsin employee benefit plans.  The Mental Health Parity Act or the MHPA was a bill that was originally signed into law in 1996. It included a sunset clause which means it had an expiration date. Since then the law has been amended 5 times to extend the expiration date.  Under this latest ruling signed by the President the MHPA is now extended through December 31, 2007.

The Employee Benefits Security Administration or EBSA is responsible for the enforcement of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. This agency was previously known as the Pension and welfare Benefits Program. However, from January of 1986 it was then called the Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration. The agency now handles as many violations of regulations regarding health care as it does pensions. In the year 2003 the agency was upgraded to sub- cabinet level.

Before the MHPA was put in place, many group health insurance plans set a liberal limit on medical treatment, such as $100,000 per year. However, mental health plans were often given annual limits well below what was offered for other types of treatment. Now that MHPA is in place, is no longer allowed.

Under the MHPA, any group health insurance plan offered to employees must cover mental health treatments such as visits to a licensed therapist, psychologist or psychiatrist with parity to other treatments including surgery. Mental facility stays or the mental health section of a hospital for illnesses such as post-traumatic stress disorder or depression are often covered, as well as rehab for drug and alcohol abuse.

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Wisconsin Employee Benefit

May 22nd, 2007 Posted by Amelia

Over 150 million people in the United States are covered under Employee Benefits Security Administration, or EBSA, plans.  The EBSA is a federal organization that enforces laws concerned with employee benefits, including pension plans and health care.  A majority of companies offer some kind of benefit plan, because it is something that attracts employees.

Years ago group health care plans that offered coverage for mental health could set low annual limits on treatment.  Before 1996, mental health was not required to be covered at the same level as other treatments like surgery.  The MHPA, or Mental Health Parity Act, requires that treatments for mental conditions be covered at the same rate that other medical treatments are covered, including surgery.  That means if someone’s medical insurance covers up to $90,000 for surgery, mental health coverage has to be covered up to at least $90,000 as well.

The bill for the MHPA has been amended 5 times, for its continuation.  The latest extension to the act, just this passed February, allows the act to stand until December 31, 2007.  This is not a law that insists every employer include mental health in their benefits, but it does govern those plans that opt to cover mental health treatments.

Employers do have the legal option of not offering coverage for mental health, but if they choose to offer this benefit, there are some guidelines.  One of the major regulations, as mentioned above, is that it is not legal to cover other medical procedures at a higher rate than mental treatment. 

Many simply choose not to offer mental health treatment coverage as a benefit, and that is perfectly fine.  Employers are under no obligation to offer health insurance coverage at all.  It is, however, to the benefit of the employer to offer benefits, as it does attract and keep employers.

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Wisconsin Employee Benefits

May 13th, 2007 Posted by Amelia

With very little fanfare, a federal agency has passed a ruling applying to more than 150 million employees in the U.S. The ruling extends a law requiring that mental health coverage limits are equal to medical/surgical benefit limits in group insurance plans.

The law does not require that every Wisconsin employee benefit health plan must cover mental health treatments as well. What it requires is that, if a health plan offers mental health coverage, the benefit caps must equal those of the coverage for medical and surgical procedures.

The federal agency covers most businesses in the U.S. Its job is to guarantee that group insurance plans abide by laws controlling pensions and health plans. The MHPA became law in 1996, and since that time has been subject to five amendments extending it past its September 31, 2001 “sunset clause,” or expiration date.

The MHPA does not require employers to include mental health care coverage in their group insurance plans. It requires parity. In other words, if a group health insurance plan already has a mental health component, the benefit limits for that mental health portion must not be lower than those for medical and surgical coverage. Prior to enactment of the law, it would have been entirely legal for an insurance company to have a $250,000 limit as its absolute limit for surgery, but only a $15,000 limit for mental health care coverage. The law also impacts annual benefit caps. Under MHPA, mental health coverage limits must be the same as the lifetime or annual caps on surgery or medical care.

What’s included under the category of mental health treatments? Stays in rehabilitation facilities, or “rehabs” for treatment of alcohol or drug dependency are covered, as are visits to mental health professionals – licensed therapists, psychiatrists, and psychologists. Also included are stays in the mental health section of a medical hospital, or in mental hospitals themselves, for illnesses like schizophrenia, post-traumatic stress disorder, and depression.

There is nothing in the law requiring you as an employer to have a mental health component in your group health insurance program. It requires instead that, if you already have mental health coverage, its benefit limits must be equal to those of your plan’s medical or surgical treatment coverage.

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Wisconsin Unemployment Insurance Update

January 1st, 2007 Posted by Mark

Here we are at yet another state, and the same point still makes sense. In Wisconsin, employers who are liable for unemployment insurance benefits are required to submit a Quarterly Contribution/Wage Report to the Wisconsin unemployment insurance system. As part of this report, it’s up to the employer to provide wage and tax info, as well as employee gross wage earning info for each and every employee that you have.

These quarterly reports are due promptly at the end of the month following the end of the quarter. So for the first quarter, for instance, the Quarterly Contribution/Wage Report is due by April 30. For the second quarter, the Quarterly Contribution/Wage Report is due on or before July 31. For the third quarter, the Quarterly Contribution/Wage Report is due on or before October 31. And for the fourth quarter, the Quarterly Contribution/Wage Report is due on or before January 31 of the following year.

The importance of all of these due dates for the Quarterly Contribution/Wage Report—the state expects you to make them. If you don’t send in the Quarterly Contribution/Wage Report on time, you could get charged late filing fees. Plus, you will face a 1 percent per month interest rate charged on the back taxes that you owe. Talk about a good reason to keep organized and provide accurate and timely info to the state of Wisconsin’s unemployment insurance system.

As for that tax, in the state of Wisconsin, they have the tax rate set so that you pay taxes only on the first $10,500 in wages for each employee in a calendar year. And the overall percentage of these wages that you is determined on your experience with the unemployment insurance system, as we have seen in most states. Part of this experience is getting your taxes paid on time on a regular basis. New employers have their own tax rate for the first three years of coverage.

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Wisconsin Unemployment Insurance Posters

September 4th, 2006 Posted by Emily

The New Hire program requires all employers with a FEIN (Federal Employer Identification Number) to report all newly hired employees within 20 days after the employee begins working. A newly hired employee is someone who has never worked for you before or who is rehired after an unpaid absence of more than 90 days. All employees should have access to Wisconsin Unemployment Insurance posters.

The easiest and most cost-effective way to file a New Hire report is through the Internet. To consider all reporting options and begin reporting, visit the New Hire web site and follow the link to New Hire Reporting.

New Hire is a national program designed to locate non-custodial parents with child support obligations. Penalties could result from failure to report newly hired and rehired employees as required.

Due to a recent law change, quarterly reporting requirements will change for employers with 75 or more employees, beginning with quarterly reports filed for third quarter 2006. (This law does not change the requirement to post Wisconsin Unemployment Insurance Posters.)

Contribution Reports: Employers with 75 or more employees who file their own reports must file via QTWRS.

Wage Reports: Employers with 75 or more employees who file their own reports must file electronically, via QTWRS or one of the other automated media reporting options.

Employer Agents: Agents who prepare reports on behalf of 25 or more employers must file their Contribution and Wage Reports electronically, using one of the reporting options.

Agents who prepare reports on behalf of less than 25 employers must file Contribution Reports via QTWRS and Wage Reports via QTWRS or one of the other automated media reporting options.

Penalties: Failure to comply with these filing requirements will result in penalties of $25 for each Contribution Report filed on paper, and $10 per employee for Wage Reports filed on paper.

Anyone interested in making suggestions, criticisms, or improvements to Wisconsin’s Unemployment Insurance (UI) program, including changes to Wisconsin Unemployment Insurance posters, is invited to attend an upcoming public hearing. UI staff will be available to meet with members of the public to discuss any unemployment insurance law-related concerns.

Some topics that may be addressed by the Council this year include funding of the UI program and levels of benefits and employer contributions.

Persons who attend will have the option of registering to speak to the UIAC or providing written comments at the hearing. If you cannot attend a hearing, you may send your comments.

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