At the end of December before adjourning for the year Congress passed and the President signed a number of bills that will impact unemployment insurance in 2015. The major legislation enacted included the following: Tax Increase Prevention Act of 2014 (HR 5771)– signed December 19, 2014 See http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-113hr5771enr/pdf/BILLS-113hr5771enr.pdf Extended the Work Opportunity Tax Credit through 2014 [...]
View UWC Comments on Proposed USDOL Drug Testing Rules for UI Applicants UWC today filed comments in response to Proposed Rules filed by US DOL on October 19, 2014 with respect to the interpretation of the circumstances under which a state UI administrative agency would be permitted to test applicants for unemployment compensation as a condition [...]
UWC today filed comments in response to Proposed Rules filed by US DOL on October 19, 2014 with respect to the interpretation of the circumstances under which a state UI administrative agency would be permitted to test applicants for unemployment compensation as a condition of eligibility for being paid unemployment compensation(See Attached). Comments are due to [...]
By an overwhelming vote of 404 -17 the House of Representatives yesterday passed the Achieving a Better Life Experience Act (HR 647). The bill has as its primary purposes (1) to encourage and assist individuals and families in saving private funds for the purpose of supporting individuals with disabilities to maintain health, independence, and quality of [...]
At its meeting in San Francisco on November 23rd the Executive Committee of the National Conference of Insurance Legislators endorsed S 2731, bi-partisan legislation introduced by Senators Bill Nelson (FLA) and Rob Portman (OH). The bill is a revised version of companion bi-partisan legislation (HR 1982) introduced in the House by Representatives Reichert (WA) and Thompson [...]
The US Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, Office of Unemployment Insurance today posted the results of its review of state unemployment trust fund loan status. Below is the report showing FUTA Tax Rates for 2014. See posting at: http://oui.doleta.gov/unemploy/finance.asp States with increased FUTA tax rates include: California: 1.8% Connecticut: 2.3% Indiana: 2.1% Kentucky: 1.8% New York: [...]
Business representatives concerned about the impact of a failure by Congress to extend the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA) today sent a letter to the House leadership urging that the House pass legislation that would provide for a long term extension of the program. The letter signed by forty-seven businesses, federal and state trade associations points [...]
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on October 6th released an updated User Guide to Section 111 Reporting for Non-Group Health Plans to meet Medicare Secondary Payer reporting requirements. The full posting may be found at http://www.cms.gov/Medicare/Coordination-of-Benefits-and-Recovery/Mandatory-Insurer-Reporting-For-Non-Group-Health-Plans/NGHP-User-Guide/NGHP-User-Guide.html The following updates were made to Chapter 1of the user guide: The Department of Health & Human [...]
In a web site release on September 22nd CMS announced plans to provide for a portal system procedure to provide valuation of prescription drugs for purposes of WCMSAs. The policy may be accessed at http://www.cms.gov/Medicare/Coordination-of-Benefits-and-Recovery/Workers-Compensation-Medicare-Set-Aside-Arrangements/Whats-New/Downloads/Upcoming-Enhancement-WCMSAP-for-PD-Information.pdf As of October 6, 2014, portal users will be able to enter information on the new Prescription Drugs page for any [...]
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) in an alert posted to its web site on September 10th released new policy effective January 5, 2015 that provides increased flexibility to employers and WC plan administrators to submit Section 111 reports to CMS. The alert responds to Section 204 of the Strengthening Medicare and Repaying Taxpayers [...]