Summary Throughout 2020 and 2021, employers sponsoring health and welfare plans have needed to respond to a myriad of legislative and regulatory changes arising from the COVID-19 pandemic and new health legislation. To comply with these changes, employers may need to work with their vendors, amend their plans, and take other action. In this alert, [&hellip… Continue Reading »
On June 24, 2019, President Trump signed Executive Order 13877, Improving Price and Quality Transparency in American Healthcare to Put Patients First. This is the President’s third executive order affecting the health care industry. Executive Order 13813 issued in October 2017, set the regulatory agenda for Association Health Plans, Short-Term Limited-Duration Insurance, and Individual Coverage Health Reimbursement [&hellip… Continue Reading »
Following up on the issuance of final regulations on various market reform provisions under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the IRS has issued a notice with Questions and Answers that take a more detailed look at specific ACA issues. In particular, this notice addresses: Health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs). The guidance confirms that retiree-only HRAs may [&hellip… Continue Reading »
In a wide-ranging set of frequently asked questions (FAQs) and other guidance, the U.S. Departments of Labor, Treasury, and Health and Human Services have addressed a number of issues pertaining to the Affordable Care Act (ACA). They include issues pertaining to COBRA and the Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act (CHIPRA), annual cost-sharing limits, preventive care, [&hellip… Continue Reading »
The IRS has issued guidance on two issues affecting health flexible spending arrangements (health FSAs). The first provides guidance on how a health FSA that consists solely of amounts carried forward from the prior year (through rules issued last fall that allow up to $500 to be carried forward) may be coordinated with coverage under [&hellip… Continue Reading »
The Internal Revenue Service will now allow an employer-sponsored health flexible spending account (FSA) program to permit the carryover of up to $500 in unused health FSA funds from one year to the next. IRS Notice 2013-71, issued on October 31, 2013, modifies the “use-it-or-lose-it” rule for health FSAs, which generally requires the forfeiture of [&hellip… Continue Reading »
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) imposes an annual $2,500 limit on the amount of salary reduction contributions that an employee may make to a health flexible spending account (Health FSA). This limit applies to tax years beginning after December 31, 2012, and is indexed for inflation in ensuing years. In a recently issued notice, the [&hellip… Continue Reading »
The three federal agencies that have published regulations on health care reform provisions (U.S. Departments of Treasury, Labor, and Health and Human Services) have furnished additional guidance on certain issues of particular importance to employers and other group health plan sponsors. A new set of Frequently Asked Questions and Answers addresses specific questions that many [&hellip… Continue Reading »
