<img height="1" width="1" style="display:none;" alt="" src="https://dc.ads.linkedin.com/collect/?pid=118459&amp;fmt=gif">

Employee Benefit News for School, City and County Employers

Steve Smith

Steve Smith is a powerhouse of energy, living by the mantra "work hard, play hard." As an expert in uniting teams for a greater purpose, Steve's innovative and creative strategies in employee health and wellness are game-changers. With over 25 years of expertise in health insurance, covering compliance, cost mitigation, utilization, analytics, wellness plans, and strategic planning, Steve is the go-to expert for driving down utilization trends and fostering a culture of well-being. His clients trust him to deliver exceptional results, making him an invaluable asset in the industry. As an Employee Benefits Consultant, Steve specializes in health care consulting for Minnesota public sector organizations including fully insured, self-insured, and stop-loss plans. Steve is a licensed insurance agent and holds the designations for Managed Healthcare Professional (The Health Insurance Association of America), Certified Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act Professional (National Association of Health Underwriters), and Group Benefits Disability Specialist (Hartford School of Insurance).

Recent Articles by Steve Smith

Categories

Employee Satisfaction Levels: HDHP vs. Traditional Health Plans

1 minute read

A recent survey found that consumers with high deductible health plans (HDHPs) were less satisfied with their coverage than those with the traditional plans. Only around 50% of HDHP...

New ACA Reporting Filing Rules for 2024

1 minute read

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) created reporting requirements under IRS Revenue Code Sections 6055 and 6056. The rules state certain employers must provide information to the IRS about...

Pharmacy Benefit Managers Scrutinized

1 minute read

Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) have been under investigation recently. PBMs negotiate rebates with drug manufacturers on behalf of a health insurance plan. Earlier this year,...

Retirees and Post-retirement Medicare Costs

1 minute read

An Employee Benefit Research Institute study found that retirees will need to save hundreds of thousands of dollars to cover Medicare costs. These costs include prescription drugs,...

2023 Employee Wellness Trends

3.5 minute read

Employee well-being will be a primary focus for employers this year. Now more than ever, employees want to feel that they belong in a workplace and feel recognized, appreciated, and...

Categories

IRS Electronic Filing Requirement Expanded

1 minute read

The IRS released a final rule which expands the requirement to file certain information electronically. This includes the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) reporting requirements under...

Loss of Medicaid Eligibility Increases HIPAA Special Enrollment Requests

1.5 minute read

Starting April 1, 2023, states that maintained continuous Medicaid enrollment during the COVID-19 pandemic can start terminating coverage for those individuals who are no longer...

Prescription Drug Reporting Submission Grace Period

1.5 minute read

The No Surprises Act’s transparency provisions require employer-sponsored health plans and issuers to provide information regarding health care spending and prescription drugs to the...

New Opioid Prescription Guidance

1.5 minute read

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued new guidelines to clinicians for prescribing opioids for pain. CDC officials have stated that previous guidance has...

2022 Employee Health Benefits Annual Survey Summary

3 minute read

The Kaiser Family Foundation conducts an annual survey to examine employer-sponsored benefit trends. Here are some of the 2022 survey’s key findings.