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  • Since the beginning of COVID-19, the job market has continued to experience rapid loss – so much so that it has coined the term The Great Resignation. However, last month the unemployment gap began to show signs of improvement. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. employers added 372,000 new jobs over the past month. This surpassed the forecasts of economists; the U.S. was vastly heading into a recession due to a lack of employment offerings.

    Where Is The Growth 

    When looking at the rapid job growth in June, the specific industries listed below lead the increase: 

    • Professional and business services
    • Leisure and hospitality 
    • Health care

    When it comes to overall unemployment, the gap has now reached 524,000 jobs. While these industries maintain strong job growth, labor force participation did not see a major rise. The number of people in the labor force fell by 353,000.

    Overall Unemployment

    The private sector has recovered and exceeded the employment opportunities, gaining over 140,000 jobs compared to pre-pandemic. However, the overall unemployment rate has still remained at 3.6%, correlating to about two jobs for each unemployed worker. The labor market will continue to remain on the rise as the economy remains low.

    Candidates Power Continued

    According to SHRM, the average hourly wage increased by 10 cents in June, although it remains a tight labor market. Candidates continue to hold the power over their workplace and organization. Through this, employers have implemented a variety of benefits to attract and retain top talent. With new positions on the rise, it is more vital employers implement the benefits their employees desire.

    Why GMS

    Partnering with GMS allows you to ease the administrative functions of your business. Through the ups and downs of the economy, it’s important to continue ongoing efforts to attract and retain top talent. Through times of rapid change and uncertainty, you can rely on GMS. Contact us today!

  • When the U.S. Supreme Court revoked the federal right to an abortion, many companies stepped in to support their employees. Companies including Amazon, Apple, Disney, and many others pledged to cover all travel expenses for employees that live in states where the procedure has now been made illegal.

    How Businesses Have Stepped Up For Their Employees

    However, businesses that announced their plan to offer travel benefits did not provide details, and it’s unclear if they will be able to legally. As a business owner, you must protect your employees’ privacy and keep them safe from prosecution. Employers have created supplementary policies that employees can buy to cover the costs of abortion travel. Additionally, businesses are contacting insurers to determine if travel can be added to their current insurance plans and figuring out how to offer a benefit without breaching employees’ privacy.

    Employees are not required to tell their managers they are traveling out of the state to have an abortion. According to Sharona Hoffman, a health law professor at Case Western Reserve University, individuals will most likely have to tell human resources or a similar department that they are pregnant and would like to get an abortion. Depending on the company, the business or its health insurer would provide money upfront or reimbursement.

    Challenges Businesses Could Face

    With these announcements come many potential challenges. Adding travel benefits to a current medical plan carries risk. While the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) protects sensitive patient information, it can be overruled in cases where a crime has been committed. This could directly impact businesses in states where abortion is now a crime. In contrast, some employees may oppose abortion and get upset that their company pays or reimburses the travel of other employees. Other arguments employees may pose include not paying for travel for fertility treatments or transgender health care.

    Listen To Your Employees!

    At the end of the day, as a business owner, your job is to make sure your employees feel heard and valued. You want what’s best for your employees. We help business owners stay in the know while being their trusted advisors for delicate topics such as abortion. Don’t let these ever-changing laws and regulations prevent you from doing what you do best- growing your business. Contact us today.

  • After the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, President Biden’s supporters voiced for him to push harder to protect abortion access. In response, on July 8th, 2022, President Joe Biden signed an executive order designed to ensure access to abortion medication and emergency contraception while preparing for legal fights. He has made it clear that the only way to secure a woman’s right to choose is for Congress to restore the protections of Roe as federal law.

    The executive order will build from the actions his administration has already taken to defend the rights of women by:

    • Safeguarding access to reproductive health care services (abortion and contraception).
    • Protecting the privacy of patients and their access to correct information. 
    • Promoting the safety and security of patients, providers, and clinics. 
    • Organizing the implementation of Federal efforts to protect reproductive rights and access to health care.

    For more information, click here. 

    Additional Actions To Protect Access To Reproductive Health Care

    The Biden-Harris Administration has taken additional steps to protect access to reproductive health care and defend reproductive rights by:

    • Supporting providers and clinics
    • Promoting access to accurate information
    • Providing leave for Federal workers traveling for medical care
    • Protecting access to reproductive health care services for service members, oD civilians, and military families

    While there will be many legal challenges from pro-life supporters, this executive order directs the Attorney General and the White House counsel to “convene a meeting of private pro bono attorneys, bar associations, and public interest organizations” to encourage robust legal representation.

    Stay In The Know!

    The last thing you want as a business owner is to miss a new law or regulation that could impact your business. The uncertainty of the economy today makes it challenging for businesses to grow their business. By partnering with GMS, you have access to experts that handle that for you. Stay in the know while growing your business. Contact us today.

  • The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has recently announced a 90-day pre-audit window to correct retirement plan errors. The program will allow for plan sponsors to be notified that the IRS has selected them for an upcoming examination and to allow them to correct errors they may have made.

    The 90-day window will allow plan sponsors to fix errors, so they do not have to pay a penalty fee or pay a lower fee for voluntarily correcting any errors. If the plan sponsor doesn’t respond, the IRS will commence with an examination.

    If a business makes changes and the documents support those changes, the IRS will issue a closing letter ending the investigation. The IRS could conduct a limited or full-scope examination if they still have reason to believe there are issues. Some mistakes are not eligible to be self-corrected, but a closing agreement can be requested. The Voluntary Correction Program fee structure will be used to determine the amount a business will pay under an agreement.

    Before this program, the ability to fix errors prior to an IRS judgment was typically not available. Errors found by the IRS resulted in much higher fees and were less predictable than they are under this new pilot program.

    The IRS states that the “goal with this program is to reduce taxpayer burden and reduce the amount of time spent on retirement plan examinations.” Once the pilot is over, the IRS will determine if it should become a new policy as part of its overall compliance strategy.

    How GMS Can Help

    While this policy helps businesses by giving them a window to correct errors, a professional employer organization (PEO), like GMS, can help eliminate these errors in the first place. That way, you don’t have to spend more money working with attorneys and advisors to conduct the self-audit after receiving a notification. Not only will it save you money to partner with GMS, but it will also save you valuable time that you can focus on operating the key facets of your business. Contact GMS today.

  • The IRS Form 941, also known as Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Return, was scheduled to change in June 2022. Previously, Form 941 was only updated in March for the first quarter reports. Now, the IRS has extended it to the second, third, and fourth quarters.

    Employers use Form 941 from the IRS to report income taxes, social security tax, or Medicare tax withheld from employee’s paychecks. Without this report, the IRS would not know if you deposited your employment taxes on time.

    Changes To Form 941-X

    The new report, Form 941-X, only has two worksheets that must be turned in versus several forms needed to be submitted for Form 941. The IRS also updated changes to Form 941-X to match the changes from Form 941.

    How GMS Can Help

    Dealing with taxes can be complicated and can take away focus from your business. Outsourcing payroll administration will provide you with a team of experts by your side to give you dedicated support, proprietary technology, and operational efficiencies. Contact us today to learn how you can benefit from partnering with a PEO for your payroll needs. 

  • Anthem, a large health insurance company, and Northside, an Atlanta hospital system, go head-to-head in a legal controversy in Georgia’s Supreme Court that could impact the state residents’ healthcare.

    In May 2021, Anthem decided to terminate Northside from its network due to the Atlanta hospital system billing overwhelming funds to Anthem. According to Insurance Newsnet, “One legal issue centers around the definition of “public health emergency.” That is because the General Assembly passed a law during the 2021 session prohibiting insurers from dropping health-care providers from their networks during and for 150 days after a “public health emergency.”

    A public health emergency, as declared by the city, the state, or the Federal Government, is an occurrence of a threatening illness or medical condition caused by an epidemic, pandemic, or an infectious agent. In the lawsuit, representatives of Anthem and Northside argue for different definitions for a public health emergency. Anthem argues for a “narrow” definition of a public health emergency meanwhile Northside argues for a “broad” definition of a public health emergency.

    What This Means For Georgia Residents

    It is possible that both parties may not be able to negotiate and reach an agreement, affecting Georgia Residents. With the extension of this case in the state Supreme Court, a decision will be made within the next six months. A public health emergency dispute that cannot be resolved affects state residents not only disrupts medical treatment but the collapse of healthcare facilities and systems, use of prescribed medications, and disrupts health surveillance and programs.

    How GMS Can Help

    Here at GMS, we have experts to assist with any healthcare inquiries you may have. Having an expert team by your side can be extremely beneficial for you and your employees. Let us assist in finding you the best healthcare plan, so you can focus on growing your business. Contact us today!

  • Considering the recent healthcare regulations, now is a better time than ever to consider a self-funded health plan. Self-funding your health insurance is a long-term strategy to save money, gain total control over your plan, and may offer immediate savings.

    It is a common misconception that self-funded health plans are only advantageous for large employers. In a traditional self-funded arrangement, small employers weren’t able to absorb the risk of becoming self-insured due to potential losses. By self-insuring your plan coupled with a stop loss policy (also known as a catastrophic policy), you mitigate your financial risk while allowing your plan to reap all benefits. Stop loss policies allow employers to evaluate potential savings and maximum exposure by becoming self-funded. Prior to stop loss insurance, the potential savings were estimated, and max exposure was unknown.

    Group Management Services offers stop loss insurance that allows small employers to be rated on their own medical applications while experiencing savings due to our economies of scale. This means we can offer lower stop loss premiums due to our volume, but your premiums aren’t affected by other plans should they not do as well as yours.

    Image of a business owner who switched to a self-funded health insurance plan.

    Various Benefits Of Self-Funding

    • Transparency. Self-insuring allows employers to view all costs paid by the plan.  These costs include fees for administration, broker, network access, and actual claims data. This knowledge allows employers to accurately evaluate their costs, and identify the areas they can potentially save more money.
    • Tax. Self-insured plans are not subject to premium taxes. 
    • Use of capital. Rather than paying your monthly premium to a fully insured carrier, self-funding allows you to hold a good portion of this capital. Let’s say your plan has an annual premium of $250k with your fully insured carrier. By switching over to a self-funded plan, your total annual premium costs have now decreased to $60k with a max claim liability of $180k. This means you are now only paying $5k monthly in premium (instead of $20k with your current carrier), and funding claims up to a max total of $180k throughout the year. Since your max out-of-pocket by being self-funded is only $240k (premium plus claim liability), you’re already guaranteed to save $10k. The $180k in claim liability stays in your bank account, allowing employers to utilize this capital until needed to fund claims.
    • Pay only for actual claims; not the total expected claim level from a fully insured carrier. On a fully insured plan, you know you’re paying the total monthly premium regardless of claim experience. If your self-funded plan runs extremely well throughout the plan year, any amount left over in your claim liability is additional savings to the plan. If your plan only experiences $120k in claims, the $60k left over in the claim fund is additional savings for your plan. Does your fully insured carrier offer you a refund at the end of a good plan year? If they do, are they keeping a percentage of your savings?
    • Limit the surprises. Fully insured plans don’t typically notify the employer of high claims until the renewal period. By that point, you can anticipate a heavy increase due to claim experience. Self-insured plans allow for employers to be notified of plan expenses on a weekly basis throughout the year. This is extremely valuable for plans to know if an early renewal is beneficial and other options to assist the employer and the members.
    • Let us share the risk. By offering stop loss insurance on your plans, GMS has every incentive to properly monitor your claim volume and accuracy. We are responsible for reimbursing your plan for all claims paid over your maximum liability. Therefore, we work closely with employers and their members to keep costs in line. 
    • Tailor the plan design. Self-funding allows employers to decide what plan options are most advantageous for their members without having to pay for unnecessary add-ons.

    Enjoy the Benefits of Self-Funding

    Self-insuring your health plan provides a copious amount of advantages, allows you to effectively evaluate costs, and offers substantial savings. The figures used in the example provided are from an actual proposal to one of our clients. Don’t take my word for it; the numbers speak for themselves. Contact us today to speak with our experts to learn more about a self-funded plan. 

  • As the U.S. continues to experience rising inflation, there is immense pressure for business owners to increase employee wages. As of June 10th, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) reported the inflation rate reached 8.6 percent

    The Continued Workforce Shortage 

    The gap between job openings and available workers has continued to widen. The unemployment rate within the U.S. hit over 5.5 million in the month of April. This equates to two jobs per every unemployed worker. The continued pressure on wages has created an increase in the consumer price index (CPI). The CPI has risen to over 8.5% — biggest price 12-month increase since 1981. The labor shortage combined with inflation has become detrimental for businesses.

    The Rising Cost 

    Workers have begun taking advantage of the tight labor market. Despite the unemployment rate falling in recent months, the U.S. is still enduring a major gap. As inflation continues to rise, employee take-home pay holds less buying power. The recent surge in inflation leaves employees desiring more wages and benefits. As a result, employers are now offering increased compensation in hopes of attracting top talent, while remaining competitive. 

    According to SHRM, the average budgeted salary in 2022 climbed to 5.2 percent, compared to 4.5 percent last year. Many companies must adjust where budgets are typically set in advance. To keep key employees, some businesses are planning a midyear pay increase and salary adjustments – in addition to annual raises. While employers continue increasing salaries to retain their top talent, they must implement changes to attract new talent.

    Employee Benefits Options

    One way to remain competitive within the current market is to offer perks beyond salary adjustments. Companies are providing remote working options, providing gift cards to their employees for gas and groceries, and increasing bonus opportunities. Other organizations are offering additional perks such as student loan reimbursement, daycare options, or fertility benefits. These investments have a payoff as employees want to feel supported and appreciated.

    How GMS Can Help

    Due to rising inflation, it is vital for employers to remain competitive. When you partner with GMS, our HR experts can help you attract and retain top talent. Along with providing you top-of-the-line benefits, while ensuring the lowest rate. Our team supports your business through all unprecedented times and ensures your business has all the tools to remain competitive and successful. Contact us today to learn more.

  • The House and Senate passed the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 in effort to temporarily expand eligibility to pay for health insurance through 2022. As a result of this act, Production Tax Credits (PTCs) were formed. According to Insurance NewsNet, “For Florida, the number of uninsured residents would grow by 24.8% according to the estimates in the study. It would also mean a five million dollar drop in total spending on health care for non-elderly residents in the Sunshine State.”

    Before the ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act of 2022), Congress implemented the Affordable Care Act of 2010 that initially started to allow PTCs to be available to states across the U.S. Florida residents make up 513,000 of the three million Americans at risk of losing healthcare coverage since speculation began that the Affordable Care Act wouldn’t be extended.

    Why Florida Residents Are Affected

    Florida falls into the category of a non-expansion state. A non-expansion state does not have to expand access to Medicaid or Medicare eligibility by the federal government. Other non-expansion states include Texas, Georgia, and North Carolina. If the extension doesn’t pass, residents in these states, specifically Florida residents below the federal poverty line (FPL), are more at risk of losing their healthcare coverage.

    According to FamiliesUSA, a healthcare advocacy organization, Florida resident premiums could go up 61% if the PTCs expire or health provisions are not extended. At this rate, health insurance rates would increase to $1.6 billion in 2023. 

    Partnership Benefits With A PEO

    As a business owner, we understand you want to offer your employees the best healthcare plan. By partnering with a PEO, we can offer a benefits plan sponsor that includes benefit coverages, a flexible spending account, a comprehensive 401(k) plan, and more. You will have access to a team of experts who will answer any questions you may have. Contact us today.

  • Medicaid is undergoing a major expansion in the state of North Carolina. The bill, H.B. 149, was passed on June 2nd by the North Carolina Senate. This bill will expand Medicaid eligibility, allowing more than 600,000 North Carolinians to receive the life-saving health care they need. In addition to the Medicaid increase throughout the state, the bill contains a certificate-of-need (CON) law that expands nurses’ practice authority.

    The Importance

    One of the major attributes of passing the bill comes from the continued rise of inflation within the U.S. Over the past year, North Carolina has been overwhelmed by the increasing healthcare costs. Senator Ralph Hise, R-Mitchell addressed, “Everything is going up. But with the sector of cost rising farther than anything else, and that has been true for decades, is healthcare; and it’s not even close.”

    Hise mentioned several other factors that support the need for Medicaid in North Carolina:

    • Eight years of solid Medicaid budgets
    • Republican leadership in the General Assembly
    • Reform of the system associated with the Medicaid transformation in 2021

    What It Means

    Over the past year, North Carolina has ranked third in the nation for hospital closures. The bill further pushes insurance companies to cover telehealth visits, along with providing medical billing transparency. Patients must be notified at least 72 hours before a procedure or visit if they have an out-of-network provider.

    The bill also contains the SAVE Act, allowing nurses to practice without a doctor present. Senator Lisa Barnes, R-Nash Stated, “It’s a measure that doctors’ groups have opposed but is targeted to rural areas where staffing shortages have reduced access to health care.”

    How GMS Can Help

    GMS supports your business by ensuring you stay ahead of all legislative changes. As a result of the expansion of Medicaid, there will be various changes throughout the healthcare industry. At GMS, a benefits specialist can find a healthcare plan that gives your employees access to what they need. Contact us today to get started!