The moment you hand in your notice to your boss, you feel a rush of freedom. No more mandatory 9-to-5, no more "reply-all" emails, and no more asking for permission to take a Tuesday afternoon off. You’re becoming your own boss: a gig worker, a freelancer, or a sole proprietor. But then, the realization hits: you just quit your health insurance, too. In the W-2 world, insurance is often "invisible." It's a deduction on your paycheck that you rarely think about until you need a doctor. In the gig world, health insurance is an active business decision. If you don't handle the transition correctly within your first 60 days, you… Read More
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You Probably Didn’t Know Your HRA Costs You $3.84 per Employee, Here’s the Deal
If you’re a business owner, you’re used to the usual suspects when it comes to costs: payroll, rent, and the rising price of health insurance. But there’s a sneaky little fee hiding in your Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA) that many employers completely miss until it’s almost too late. It’s called the PCORI fee (Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute fee). While the name sounds like something out of a medical textbook, the reality is much simpler: it’s a federal fee that helps fund research for the government, and if you offer an HRA, you’re likely on the hook for it. Currently, that fee is ticking up. Depending on when your plan year… Read More
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PCORI Fee Deadline Looming? We’ll Break Down Who Pays, When, and How
If you are an employer providing health benefits to your team, you likely already know that the summer months bring more than just heatwaves and vacation requests. For many business owners and HR managers, the end of July marks a critical compliance deadline that often flies under the radar: the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) fee. While it might sound like just another acronym in the alphabet soup of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the PCORI fee is a mandatory federal excise tax that requires your attention. If you are handling a self-insured plan or a Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA), missing this deadline isn't just a minor oversight, it’s a… Read More
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