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[Official Guidance]
Text of DOL Q&As on COVID-19 or Other Public Health Emergencies and the Family and Medical Leave Act
11 Q&As, including: - Can an employee stay home under FMLA leave to avoid getting pandemic influenza?
- What legal responsibility do employers have to allow parents or care givers time off from work to care for the sick or children who have been dismissed from school?
- May employers send employees home if they show symptoms of pandemic influenza? Can the employees be required to take sick leave? Do they have to be paid? May employers prevent employees from coming to work?
- May employers change their paid sick leave policy if a number of employees are out and they cannot afford to pay them all?
- If an employer temporarily closes his or her place of business because of an influenza pandemic and chooses to lay off some but not all employees, are there any federal laws that would govern this decision?
- What types of
policy options do employers have for preventing abuse of leave?
Employee Benefits Security Administration [EBSA], U.S. Department of Labor [DOL]
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[Official Guidance]
Text of IRS Notice 2020-15: High Deductible Health Plans and Expenses Related to COVID-19 (PDF)
"[T]his notice provides that, until further guidance is issued, a health plan that otherwise satisfies the requirements to be a high deductible health plan (HDHP) under section 223(c)(2)(A) of the Internal Revenue Code (Code) will not fail to be an HDHP under section 223(c)(2)(A) merely because the health plan provides health benefits associated with testing for and treatment of COVID-19 without a deductible, or with a deductible below the minimum deductible (self only or family) for an HDHP. Therefore, an individual covered by the HDHP will not be disqualified from being an eligible individual under section 223(c)(1) who may make tax-favored contributions to a health savings account (HSA)."
Internal Revenue Service [IRS]
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[Guidance Overview]
CMS Issues COVID-19 Guidance: Medicare Coverage and Payment
"In its [March 5 guidance], CMS details coverage (as well as payment) information for Original Medicare and Medicare Part D and Medicare Advantage plans. The guidance reinforces current Medicare coverage policies, which continue to apply for COVID-19 patients, and highlights areas of coverage that necessitate flexibility within the program from providers, Medicare contractors and Medicare plan sponsors."
Dentons
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Cigna Extends Free Coronavirus Tests to Self-Funded Employer Plans
"Cigna Corp. said it has signed up all of its self-insured employer clients to eliminate cost-sharing for coronavirus tests. Cigna sent letters to these 'administrative services only' clients ... giving them 10 business days to opt out of the program ... Two Democratic members of Congress introduced legislation [HR 6173]... that aims to fill gaps left by ERISA by requiring self-insured employers -- along with private health insurers -- to cover the full cost of the coronavirus diagnostic test and prevent them from passing those costs on to beneficiaries in the form of higher premiums."
Modern Healthcare Online; free registration required
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Benefits in General
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Society of Actuaries Research Brief: Impact of Coronavirus COVID-19 (PDF)
16 pages. "The result in February and March 2020 ha s been one where a confluence of risks has come together. Morbidity, mortality, asset/liability management and operational risks are all a part of the initial and evolving story. This Society of Actuaries Research Brief has been constructed to highlight some of the key features of the epidemic and contemplate the risks for the actuarial profession to consider in their work."
Society of Actuaries
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