Compliance January 25, 2017

Legislators Introduce Bill to Repeal ACA Cadillac Tax

The American Benefits Council issued a letter of support for the bill.
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U.S. Representative Mike Kelly, R-Pennsylvania—a member of the House Ways and Means Committee—introduced H.R. 173, the Middle Class Health Benefits Tax Repeal Act of 2017, which will repeal the so-called “Cadillac Tax” provision within the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA).

The provision in the ACA would impose a 40% excise tax on all employer-provided health insurance plans valued at more than $10,200 for individual coverage and $27,500 for families.

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“As our vice president, Mike Pence, reminded me and my colleagues this morning, we have a duty to fulfill our promise to the millions of Americans who are awaiting and demanding relief from Obamacare,” Kelly said in a statement. “As the new Congress and incoming administration begin the process of achieving real health care reform that actually lowers costs and is patient-centered, both Republicans and Democrats agree that this onerous tax should be repealed immediately. Doing so would mark a promising and productive start to the new year.”

H.R. 173 is co-sponsored by Representative Joe Courtney, D-Connecticut.

In a letter of support for the legislation, asserting that the Cadillac Tax “will hurt Americans in a very inconsistent and inequitable way,” American Benefits Council President James Klein says, “We are at a pivotal moment for health care reform, and now, more than ever, we need a stable employer-sponsored health coverage system. The ‘Cadillac Tax’ threatens the ability of employers to continue to provide high-quality health care coverage to their employees.”

With President Donald Trump’s “repeal and replace” agenda and the fact that The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016, included a two-year delay of the 40% excise tax on high-cost health plans, it remains to be seen if this action will move quickly through Congress.

Products January 25, 2017

LifeLock Offers Identity Theft Protection as Employee Benefit

LifeLock Benefit Elite monitors 401(k) accounts and other investment accounts to detect potential fraud before bringing it to the attention of participants via email, text or phone.
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In a world where fraud and identity theft is becoming a widespread issue, firms are enhancing technology to better protect data that could potentially deprive people of everything from paychecks to retirement savings. LifeLock is offering this protection as an employee benefit.

LifeLock Benefit Elite monitors 401(k) accounts and other investment accounts to detect potential fraud before bringing it to the attention of participants via email, text or phone.

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LifeLock recently added new features to this platform including Stolen Funds Reimbursement. According to a company statement, “If a LifeLock member does become a victim of identity theft, LifeLock protects their hard earned money with dollar for dollar reimbursement for lost funds up to $1 million for Benefit Elite membership. This includes everything from fraudulent bank and investment account withdrawals to fraudulently filed tax returns.”

Checking, Savings and Credit Card Account Activity Alerts will allow members to monitor these accounts in one place while receiving notifications for cash withdrawals, balance transfers and large purchases in order to help detect fraudulent activity.

The LifeLock Privacy Monitor tool is designed to help minimize public exposure of private and personal information such as names, birth dates, and addresses.

“With seemingly endless data breaches in the news, people are concerned about identity fraud,” says Terry Reams, general manager of employee benefit protection solutions at LifeLock. “For employees, this is especially worrisome when it comes to getting protection for their retirement and investment accounts. That’s why we’ve tailored Benefit Elite identity protection to meet their unique needs.”

A study by Javelin Strategy & Research showed that 13.1 million victims of fraud lost $15 billion in 2015. LifeLock also points to a recent study showing that nearly 70% of employers are projected to offer identity theft protection as a voluntary benefit by 2018.

According to the firm, LifeLock searches millions of transactions per second for potential threats to its members’ personal identity including suspicious uses of name, address, phone number, birth date, and Social Security number to obtain loans, credit and services, or to commit crimes.

A LifeLock company statement reads, “If an employee becomes a victim of identity theft while a LifeLock member, LifeLock will spend up to $1 million, if necessary, to hire the necessary lawyers, accountants and investigators to help with recovery. The benefits under the Service Guarantee are provided under a Master Insurance Policy underwritten by State National Insurance Company. As this is only a summary policy the terms and restrictions can be found at LifeLock.com/legal.”

LifeLock Benefit Elite is available to employees through employers only, and paid for either by the employer or as a voluntary benefit. To learn more about LifeLock Benefit Elite, visit the company’s Fact Sheet. 

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