Health & Welfare Plans Newsletter

December 26, 2019

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[Guidance Overview]

Qualified Transportation Plan Cannot Make Nontaxable Cash Reimbursements for Transit Expenses When an Electronic Payment Card Malfunctions

"This appears to be the first time that IRS guidance has considered whether employers can provide nontaxable reimbursements under a qualified transportation fringe benefit plan when electronic payment cards or card systems malfunction. The IRS has drawn a bright line: If functioning cards were distributed, an employee's later inability to use the card will not permit nontaxable cash reimbursements. In that situation, the memo observes, it should be the transit system's responsibility to honor the card and address any malfunctions." [IRS Chief Counsel Memorandum 201949019, Aug. 24, 2019; released Dec. 5, 2019]

Thomson Reuters / EBIA

Health Insurers Receive Multiple Gifts in Year-End Spending Package

"One of the two measures that make up the $1.4 trillion spending package will completely repeal the long-reviled health insurer fee starting in 2021 ... The legislation also includes two provisions to that could stabilize the [ACA] exchanges by thwarting any attempts to ban silver loading or auto-reenrollment."

AISHealth

The Smartwatch Won't Replace Your Doctor

"[A]mong those who signed up for the study, wore the watch and got a health alert, almost 80 percent ignored it. Of the 450 participants who returned patches, atrial fibrillation was confirmed in 34 percent, or 153 people. Those 153 are about 0.04 percent of the 420,000 participants. This doesn't mean that the Apple device failed. It probably led some participants to be diagnosed sooner than they might have. How many, and how much of a difference this made in their health, though, is debatable."

The New York Times; subscription may be required

Grappling with State vs. Federal Licensure in Telemedicine

"Fragmentary licensing makes it difficult for telemedicine providers to serve the entire country.... [A] doctor who wished to practice telemedicine across the entire United States would have to spend around $90,000 and countless hours to obtain licenses in every state -- followed by permanent effort to maintain the licenses."

Herald and News

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BenefitsLink Health & Welfare Plans Newsletter, ISSN no. 1536-9595. Copyright 2019 BenefitsLink.com, Inc. All materials contained in this newsletter are protected by United States copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of BenefitsLink.com, Inc., or in the case of third party materials, the owner of those materials. You may not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or other notices from copies of the content.

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