Beth Braverman reports on the top five healthcare trends in 2017 in this article for The Fiscal Times. She notes that "the American health care system faces massive uncertainty heading into 2017," as more Americans gain coverage but fewer can afford it.
Dan Cook writes for Benefits Pro about the results of a recent survey by the insurer Guardian, which reveals that many Americans do not understand the benefits (health or otherwise) they are receiving.
The IRS has extended the due dates for furnishing 2016 Forms 1095-B and 1095-C to covered individuals and full-time employees, respectively, from January 31, 2017, to March 2, 2017. In addition, the IRS is also extending good faith penalty relief to reporting entities who can show they made good faith efforts to comply with the calendar year 2016 information reporting requirements. However, the deadline to file 2016 Forms 1094-B, 1095-B, 1094-C, and 1095-C with the IRS was not extended, and remains February 28, 2017 (or March 31, 2017, if filing electronically). Source: HR360
Brian M. Kalish writes for Benefit News about the enormous penalities for which employers are on the line if they do not stay in compliance with the Affordable Care Act.
![[Image: Bloomberg]](https://assets.sourcemedia.com/dims4/default/ce72fa9/2147483647/resize/680x%3E/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.sourcemedia.com%2F76%2F13%2Fd40e7af1426d9f2d900ba1f5b602%2Fp2-april21-bloomberg-afternoon.jpg)
Amanda Eisenberg writes for Benefit News about the struggle employers are facing in attracting and retain employees with critical skills, high potential, and a top performance record.
Kristen Rasmussen recently wrote for Benefits Pro about what companies need to do to prepare for the possible repeal of, or dramatic changes to, the Affordable Care Act.
This article written by Cort Olsen for Benefits News discusses Met Life's 14th Annual U.S. Employee Benefit Trend Study, which examines benefits trends in the public sector.
Jack Craver writes for Benefits Pro about a new report from the Society of Human Resource Management that displays the effect that rising healthcare costs has had on employers and employees.
Reed Abelson of The New York Times takes an alternate – and more positive – look at employee reactions to high deductible health plans (HDHPs).
Todd Renner writes for Mercer Signal about “a whole new ecosystem of health benefits” that support recruitment and retention of talented staff. High deductible health plans (HDHPs) and health savings accounts (HSAs) are noted as good options even for small businesses to consider.
