#health-insurance
Track health insurance costs and employee benefits
Most PEO brokers are paid by the PEO you pick, not by you — a commission that can vary by provider. Here are the compensation, network, and CPEO questions to ask before signing, and when going direct is faster.
Enrolling in Medicare Part A after age 65 backdates coverage up to six months, turning HSA contributions made during that window into excess contributions subject to a 6% yearly excise tax. This guide covers the 2026 prorated limits, the Form 5329 penalty, how to withdraw the excess before the filing deadline, and the six-months-ahead shutdown plan.
Medicare's IRMAA surcharge sets your 2026 Part B and Part D premiums from your 2024 tax return, and crossing a bracket by one dollar triggers the full tier — up to roughly $14,000 a year above standard premiums for a couple. Here is how business sales, Roth conversions and RMDs trigger it, the 2026 thresholds, and how to file Form SSA-44 after retirement or another qualifying life-changing event.
Insurers have filed a median 14% small-group premium increase for 2027, following an 11% rise for 2026, while Mercer projects employer health costs up 8.2% per employee even after cost controls. This guide explains what is driving the increases, how to model the renewal in per-employee-per-month terms, and five levers (competitive bids, level-funded and ICHRA/CHOICE comparisons, plan redesign, defined contributions, and early communication) that can shrink the hit before open enrollment.
USERRA covers every US employer with no headcount minimum. When an employee is called to military service, you must reemploy them promptly at the "escalator" position they would have reached, continue health coverage for up to 24 months, credit seniority and pension benefits as if they never left, and honor return deadlines of 14 or 90 days depending on service length. This guide lays out the five reemployment conditions, the anti-discrimination rules, what federal law does not require, and a before-during-after bookkeeping checklist for small employers.
A proposed federal rule would let employers offer fertility coverage as a standalone excepted benefit — like dental or vision — capped at a combined $120,000 lifetime maximum per participant and covered beneficiaries, for plan years beginning on or after January 1, 2027. Here is how the fully insured and self-funded options differ on the books, and the ledger accounts, payroll deduction codes and accumulator reports to set up before the first enrollment.
Employers with prescription drug coverage owe two annual disclosures — a creditable-coverage notice to Medicare-eligible participants before October 15, and an electronic filing to CMS within 60 days of the plan year start. Missing the notice can leave an employee paying a lifetime Part D penalty of 1% of the national base premium per uncovered month.
Most ski instructors are seasonal W-2 employees, and for 2025–2028 the no-tax-on-tips deduction lets workers in qualifying occupations deduct up to $25,000 a year in reported tips. This guide covers withholding across multiple W-2s, the 2026 Form W-2 Box 12 code TP tip reporting, filing for unemployment between seasons, bridging the spring health-coverage gap through ACA special enrollment or COBRA, and the daily tip log that substantiates the deduction.
The No Surprises Act's Federal IDR administrative fee fell from $115 to $15 per party for disputes filed on or after June 11, 2026, with the rest of the operations rule effective August 3, 2026. This guide walks a small medical practice through the arbitration timeline, why low-dollar out-of-network underpayments are now worth disputing, and how to book disputed receivables, dispute fees and awards so contested claims stop leaking revenue.
IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-19 sets 2026 HSA limits at $4,400 self-only and $8,750 family, plus $1,000 catch-up for 55+.
Association health plans could let small businesses and self-employed owners pool as a single large group under ERISA — median small-group premiums are proposed up 11% for 2026 and family coverage averages $26,993, while the Association Health Plans Act (S. 1847/H.R. 2528) would expand pooling with two-year association and nondiscrimination safeguards after the 2018 rule was rescinded in 2024.
Small-group health insurance faces a median 11% proposed increase for 2026 based on 318 insurer filings — the sharpest in over 15 years. This guide shows small employers how to translate that median into dollars, understand the cost drivers, and evaluate renewal, plan design, and ICHRA alternatives before signing.
