GBurns

Probationary periods relate to work and hire date and do not relate to insurance etc. Waiting periods do not relate to work or hire date but relate to insurance etc. They are not interchangeable but might coincidentally be related or run concurrently.

It seems that Mbi might hold the patent and is really sublicensing most of the cards. I would ask them for a list of their licensees from which to make a choice.

There are a large number of TPAs not only in your area but also nationally that would gladly serve you. Have you asked your product brokers and suppliers for referrals?

No... Kirk will reply. If he misposted or misread or especially if he thinks that I did, he will. He loves an argument too much.

So there you have it. Jeanine says 50% of her insured groups have a 90 day waiting period. papogi says that 50% of his self-funded groups have a waiting period but not as long as 90 days. Also 50% have no waiting period. GBurns says that most have a waiting period that matches the probation period, which is usually 90 days. mroberts says that most have no waiting period. papogi... Does this also mean that most of your groups have no probationary period? In my experience most employers still use probation periods and employees are not usually eligible for any benefits until that period is up. Even if the get benefits the 1st day after the end of the probation period it would still not be 1st day of employment coverage but 1st date of eligibility coverage.

Yes, you have the option of requesting that the employee send in the receipts upon request. But, this would be after the purchase has been paid for. Also how would you know which employee and which employee's purchase to request the receipt for? And what happens if the employee does not send the receipt in? And what happens if the purchases exceeded the employee contributions and the employee refuses to submit the receipts and/or the employee leaves the job?

Kirk.. Did I miss something or did you mispost to the wrong Board? I do not see where this issue is raised in this post? An FSA is a benefit that can be either part of or not be part of a Cafeteria Plan. In any case the FSA is not the Cafeteria Plan it is just one of the benefits that might be provided as one of the qualified benefits electable just as is the medical insurance. And just like the medical insurance it carries its own Plan Document, SPD and claims and grievance process separate and apart from any of the other provided qualified benefits.

I am curious as to what AFLAC has told you and what they are providing. I often hear that they claim to give free F5500 preparation if you allow them to sell their products to the employees, but it seems to be a different story when filing time comes around. What happened in your case? What was AFLAC supposed to provide?

Most health plans condition eligibility to the length of the probation period, with eligibility being either 30 days after the end or the 1st of the next month. This seems to be based on industry practice within the geographical area.

The question was posted on this Board and not on the Cafeteria Plan Board and the posted specifically asked about HIPAA. Together these imply that this is not a cafeteria plan issue but some other issue. There is no status change issue under HIPAA, and we all seem to agree on this. However, there is nothing that says that this is a Cafeteria Plan issue either. If there is no Cafeteria Plan in place, and there are many plans that do not need a Cafeteria Plan, then the questioned change would be allowable if the Plan Documents etc allow for such a change.

I have yet to see any card, debit card, credit card, "bennie card" or any card that can recognize or that is ever given the product bar code. No card has scanning capabilities. The card is swiped for the total amount that is accumulated on the cash register. It is not swiped for the individual products. It also does not have any way of knowing if the amount being paid is for the use of the cardholder or if the cardholder is just paying for someone else's amount.

You use the term "non-federal" but there could be the issue of other political entities. Is it under state, county or other public entity control? You might want to look at PLR 9152028 and Revenue Ruling 74-608 which are some of the determinations that have been issued stating that public School Board members (elected or appointed) are employees for withholding purposes. You also might want to look at PLR 9326050 and PLR 9304026 which relate to Utility Board and other public entity board members being treated as employees. If your hospital Board members are already being treated as employee and getting W2s raises different issues than if they are being treated as independent contractors. It seems that in most public entity cases the Board Members and Commissioners must be treated as employees.

Do not just meet with a financial advisor just because he is a financial advisor, meet with him only if he has experience in this particular aspect of 403(B) plans. There are very few financial advisors with much experience in 403(B) plans much less this particular problem.

They might have the problem of insufficient other assets so that the health "account" might be a substantial issue.

I have some ideas that might be of interest and a referral to a unique plan that I came across that was designed to reduce the cost by "carving out" the retiress into a alternative "special" plan. However, this board is not the proper medium at this point so send me an email if you want further info.

What do you really mean and in what context was the phrase used? You could mean control of the administration BUT you could also mean administration of the control.

mroberts, Are you saying that he can go ahead because this complies with HIPAA?

What made it seem safe. Did they resolve the verification and substantiation issues that SLuskin pointed out? The improper use of an FSA card does not require "professional" knowledge, it only requires improper or inadvertent use. If an employee goes into a pharmacy to fill a presription for their daughter who is not covered under the plan and at the same time picke up some other items then presents the FSA card just like they would present any Debit Card, and the cashier processes it just as they do for every other Debit Card, how will the system prevent this? That is what Sluskin pointed out and which you missed. As far as penalties go I must point out that the penalties are the same as they have always been for any other improper reimbursement...possible disallowance and disqualification of the entire plan. There have always been these penalties for employers and administrators and who would be held responsible in the U.S.

I don't see where HIPAA is even applicable. Why would HIPAA apply?

What VEBA accounts??

I am sure that your state insurance laws require that the covered employee get a certificate of coverage for each type of coverage or each separate policy. This has nothing to do with the SPD.

The far bigger questions are..Can you really set up a plan for yourself? Is your spouse a bona fide employee? The answers most often are no, therefore you probably cannot/should not be able to set up a compliant 105 plan.

I would say that this is compensation reported on a W2 an subject to payroll taxes and is not a Welfare, or Benefit plan of any sort.

The only suggestion that I can make is for you to select a few of your local public sector entities who have 403(B) plans then call the head of their Benefits Dept and ask for a copy of the RFP that they used. You might have to send a written resuest, but they will give you a copy under your state's public record disclosure law.

Forget about fee only financial planners. Call the sales reps from a few of the larger TSA vendors that are approved by your syatem and pose the problem to them. Many of them will have transfer products and techniques that they use regularly in these situations with outstanding and defaulted loans. Select from the ones that give you acceptable choices. The reason for forgetting about fee only financial planners is that being fee only does not cause them to have either the product or the knowledge needed. You need someone who has done this before. Some choices might be Reliastar Northern Life, Hartford or T. Rowe Price.