Working with professional employer organizations is a popular way for small businesses to manage administrative details. HR professionals note benefits and pitfalls of PEOs, which can directly manage employment taxes and payroll.

Blue Shield of California collaborated with the California Department of Education and nonprofit groups to launch Blue Sky, which will provide online and other mental health resources to students in middle and high school. The program will also provide one-on-one therapy for student and youth mental health first aid training.

WorkWell Consultants CEO Kathy Worden says more employers are interested in providing financial and mental health wellness resources for employees, and those that incentivize participation in community service, team sports, mental health and financial wellness tend to gain more worker trust. Elizabeth Giles of Numerica Credit Union says the company finds an association between having debt and the risk of anxiety and depression, so the company makes financial well-being a priority.

AHIP and the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association filed an amicus brief in support of a lawsuit against the health insurance tax and its impact on Medicaid managed care organizations. The tax, which states do not have to include in capitation payments, could force Medicaid MCOs to cut reimbursement to health care providers or exit markets entirely, the groups argued in the brief.

AHIP and the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association sent a letter to the departments of Treasury, Labor and HHS, urging agency officials to extend from January to April the comment period for a proposal that would require health insurers to provide real-time, personalized out-of-pocket spending estimates for members. The rule will cause major disruptions and "development of thoughtful, constructive comments will not be possible under the current 60-day timeframe," the groups wrote.

Indiana state Rep. Martin Carbaugh, R-Fort Wayne, drafted the Short Term Limited Duration Insurance Model Act for the National Council of Insurance Legislators, which calls for setting the minimum annual policy limit for short-term health coverage at $2 million or higher. The draft is similar to a bill Carbaugh sponsored that became law in Indiana.

Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin posted to his agency's website a revised proposed rule imposing a fiduciary standard on financial professionals who give advice to clients in the state. The new version omits a provision in an earlier draft made public last summer that financial professionals must recommend the best available investment option.

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam has directed the state's Medicaid director to halt negotiations with the Trump administration on implementation of work requirements in the program, and the state has asked the CMS to stop the approval process. The requirements enabled Northam to gain enough Republican support for expanding eligibility in the state, but the Legislature has since been taken over by Democrats.

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