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So 19 cents per mile for medical FSA claims?

Do we have it yet?

Well it's a little troublesome because when one gets a DUI, one is not necessarily an alcoholic (though it would be a reasonable assumption) and a court does not typically make a legal diagnosis.

Court ordered. Qualifying expense? I'm guessing no because usually these things should come via a doctor's prescription/note. But will a court order or court agreement in lieu of punishment suffice?

Got a client with some concerns about the plan administrator and/or the adjudicator of claims being the same person who also does the hiring and firing. The first thing that comes to mind of course is an abuse of power where an ee is not hired or loses employment because they would cost the company a lot of money because of health issues or concerns about job performance etc. Any regulations, laws, guidelines, advice on this issue? Edit: Just saw this thread which helps, but any further commentary on this issue would be appreciated.

An employee's spouse is under COBRA at another company. Can the employee cover the spouse's COBRA premiums via a premium reimbursement account (PRA) at the employee's (not the spouse's) company? A different PRA question: Must an employee be covered by the insurance paid for under a PRA or can it cover only spouse and/or children?

I keep hearing that that this does not take effect until 2013. However, the PPACA wording seems to say it takes effect for plan years beginning after Dec 31, 2010 and that adjustments for cost of living begin after Dec 31 2013: Which or what is the correct interpretation?

What about that used to maintain medical devices? Contact lens solution for example. My understanding is that such is not precluded as an OTC Drug and is reimbursible without a prescription. Is that correct?

But you can't use an FSA to pay insurance premiums. So in that, case, could a benefit be offered to pay medicare premiums pretax? I'm guessing the copays would be acceptable to flex under the FSA like other copays, but just guessing because medicare is involved.

Never had this come up. Not in my materials. I searched the board and found a similar, but unanswered question from back in 2007. Medicare premiums; pre tax like insurance premiums? Medicare co-payments; can claim under a health FSA?

Could an AFLAC benefit be added to the plan mid year in the case of a change in insurance premiums or would we have to wait till the next plan year?

Nevertheless, AD&D plans are allowable in the framework of a cafeteria plan. I myself am looking for info on how to write one into a plan document for the first time so any help would still be appreciated.

Employee incurred an expense that was first submitted to insurance. Insurance paid part. Claim for the rest was then submitted to HRA and the remainder to MFSA (about $500 to the MFSA) and both reimbursed. Only just now is the insurance company saying that the entire amount should have been covered by them and has notified the employee that a check will be sent. The original claim was occured and reimbursed in their 2009 plan year which ended 12/31/2009. What should or can be done in this case? I'm assuming the HRA portion needs to be refunded back to the account. But what about the Flex? The employee, not unreasonably, claims that there were other incurred expenses that she could have had reimbursed via the MFSA. Perhaps just use the insurance check to refund the HRA and the ee keeps the remaining $500 and Flex is therefore appropriately used up?

In the past, if an employee has gone through a weight loss medical proceedure or weight loss program because a doctor diagnosed a medical condition such as hypertension or diabetes or heart trouble etc., we have allowed "tummy tucks" and other skin tightening procedures to be reimbursed because the need ultimately resulted from a medical condition. Is this allowable? In a current case, there is a woman who has on her own as far as we can tell, through diet and exercise, lost a lot of weight and now desires a tummy tuck to take in all the loose skin. Her doctor is telling her this can be reimbursed but we don't think so unless the weight loss portion came about because a doctor said there was a medical condition requiring it and prescribed it. They are also trying to separate out the anesthesthetics for the proceedure, saying that it should be reimbursed anyway regardless. What is the rule here? Thanks

So a company can have a separate area on the ledger to handle these transactions but not an actual bank account they deposit contributions to else they trigger the 5500 filing requirement?

Can someone expound a bit on what, if anything, makes it necessary to file a 5500 for a welfare benefit plan for a company with less than 100 participants? Specifically regarding the instructions on page four of the 5500 instructions under the heading "Do Not File A Form 5500 For A Welfare Benefit Plan That Is Any of the Following:" Is it really just as simple as there is a Cafeteria Plan, there are fewer than 100 participants, therefore we don't need to file a 5500? I see some potentional pitfalls in the instructions regarding the regulations, code, and a technical release that I don't fully understand. Thanks

Thanks for your input. I would've thought a 401k would have to be part of a pension plan. Can it be part of a welfare plan? And of course any other caveats for this situation are still welcome.

Can someone expound a bit on what, if anything, makes it necessary to file a 5500 for a welfare benefit plan for a company with less than 100 participants? Specifically regarding the instructions on page four of the 5500 Instructions under the heading "Do Not File A Form 5500 For A Welfare Benefit Plan That Is Any of the Following:" Is it really just as simple as there is a Cafeteria Plan, there are fewer than 100 participants, therefore we don't need to file a 5500? I see some pitfalls in the instructions regarding the regulations, code, and a technical release that I don't fully understand. Thanks

LOL! Well I thought legal was implied. But I think I know this well enough to know that finding something creative and legal will be highly unlikely. Just thought I'd pick your brains (reimbursable under your MFSA).

A pregant employee elects Day Care and has been making contributions. However, as the blessed event arrives, she realizes that she's going to be a stay at home mom, possibly through the end of the plan year and she may no longer be employed by the company afterwards. Are there any creative ways to spend the money she's already contributed in this case? She has no other children and there are no elders to take care of.

An employee being laid off wants to reimburse the company for a large claim(s). Sounds suspicious to me, as if the company might not be communicating her rights. So I will probe a little further. However, are there procedures or rules to handle such things? What if the employee truly wants to reimburse because she doesn't feel good about taking more money than she's contributed? Should I simply recommend to the company that they tell her to keep it? What if the claims turned out to not be legit and the money is already reminbursed? Can the company expect to be reimbursed?

I realize that a husband and wife who both have day care accounts, whether from the same company or different companies, can only have $5000 in total elections and the rest would have to be treated as taxable income. However, is there anything preventing a case where husband and wife both work for the same company and each elect the max for their individual medical FSA's? The only thing I can see at the moment is that the plan administrator would have to ensure that there is no double-dipping of claims.

A related question... Are the board members of a non -rofit subject to discrimination/testing?

I'd have to check with the company. But my question is more along the lines of can we still accept claims incured during the leave. If, for example, there was an election change and there were still contributions, of course claims would still be accepted. But in this case, the employee's election is reduced to zero but neither the employee or the employee's benefits are not terminated.

An employee is taking an unpaid leave of absence which qualifies as a change in status. Normally, we would change the election upon commencment and change it again upon return. However, in this case, the employee is taking leave until the end of the plan year. There are still some unreimbursed funds in the Medical account and she has not yet made contributions equal to the total election. Do we simply change the election and try to have her find some reciepts to cover the unreimbursed portion or hurry and get some work done or buy something? Is there a way she can "prepay" to remaining election? Can she somehow incur expenses during the leave and have them reimbursed?