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Health & Welfare Plans Newsletter December 8, 2020 |
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Newly Posted Out-of-Network ERISA Claims: Identifying Provisions Subject to Provider Challenge
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Discussions |
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This Newsletter:
BenefitsLink Retirement Plans Newsletter:
Message Boards Digest:
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[Guidance Overview]
27 pages. "[T]axpayers can exclude from their income up to $5,000 of employer-sponsored child and dependent care benefits. Many taxpayers receive the exclusion in the form of a dependent care flexible spending arrangement (FSA).... [F]or every dollar of employer-sponsored child and dependent care excluded from income, the taxpayer must reduce the maximum amount of qualifying expenses claimed for the CDCTC.... [A]bout 43% of employees have access to a child and dependent care flexible spending account, while 11% have access to other types of employer-sponsored childcare." [R44993, Dec. 7, 2020] Congressional Research Service [CRS] |
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[Sponsored]
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[Guidance Overview]
"[Items are separated] into three categories: federal deadlines, state and local deadlines, and pandemic-related reminders.... [T]hese deadlines may or may not be applicable to your group depending on the employer and plan characteristics." Lockton |
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"[1] For plan years beginning on or after January 1, 2022, non-grandfathered group health plans will be required to make available to the public ... detailed pricing information (standardized format and updated monthly) ... [2] For plan years beginning on or after January 1, 2023, non-grandfathered group health plans must make available ... personalized out-of-pocket cost information, and the underlying negotiated rates, for 500 identified covered health care items and services ... [3] For plan years beginning on or after January 1, 2024, non-grandfathered group health plans must make available ... personalized out-of-pocket cost information, and the underlying negotiated rates, for all covered health care items and services." McAfee & Taft |
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"58 percent of survey respondents [say] they usually compare prices before selecting a healthcare provider.... 65 percent of respondents who participate in an HSA saying they do so compared to just 55 percent of respondents who don't participate. ... Among HSA participants with children, 71 percent say they compare prices before selecting providers; only 60 percent of HSA participants without children do." HealthEquity |
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"Any Massachusetts employer with six [6] or more employees in any month during the past twelve [12] months preceding the form's due date must complete and submit annually the HIRD form. An individual is considered to be an employee if the employer included the individual in their quarterly wage report to the Department of Unemployment Assistance (DUA) during the past twelve [12] months." OneDigital Health and Benefits |
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"Large employers (those with 500 or more employees) reported a cost increase of just 1.9%, their lowest increase since 1997, as plan members avoided health care facilities due to the pandemic. Large employers typically self-fund their plans, which means they may see costs fall as utilization falls ... Survey results suggest that many large employers plan to use money saved in 2020 to invest in programs to support and engage employees in 2021." Mercer |
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"For every dollar of the almost $950 billion spent on health care benefits, another $0.61 of productivity is lost to illness and injury. Employees covered for sick time, workers' compensation, disability, and family and medical leave benefits are absent about 978 million days due to illness and incur an estimated 540 million lost work days due to presenteeism (underperformance on the job by employees with chronic health conditions). This totals almost 1.5 billion days annually of illness-related absence." Integrated Benefits Institute |
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Benefits in General |
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[Guidance Overview]
"ERISA's definition of a party in interest is broader than a related party as that term is defined by GAAP. Parties in interest include all entities and individuals that provide services to the plan; however, these entities may not necessarily be related parties. Party in interest transactions are prohibited under ERISA Section 406(a) unless specifically exempted from the prohibited transaction rules. Material transactions with Related Parties must be disclosed. Transactions with Parties in Interest must be disclosed unless they are listed as a Statutory or Administrative Exemption." Belfint Lyons Shuman |
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Selected Discussions |
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► It's easy to sign up and participate in discussions! Post answers, ask questions, create custom feeds and views. Join your peers (and potential referral sources or customers)—there is no charge. |
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"I am in United States on H1B (work visa) and my employer provides health insurance to me through UnitedHealth Care. My wife is pregnant; the baby is due in May. I'm worried about what happens to my health insurance if I lose my job and need to change my visa from H1B (work visa) to B2 (visitor visa). Can I, and should I, opt for COBRA insurance (on a visitor visa)?" BenefitsLink Message Boards |
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Press Releases |
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NTSA Names Luckinbill as New Executive Director
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Most Popular Items in the Previous Issue |
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Pitfalls for HSA-Eligible Employees with at Least One Other Family Member Covered Under the HDHP
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David Rhett Baker, J.D., Editor and Publisher
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BenefitsLink Health & Welfare Plans Newsletter, ISSN no. 1536-9595. Copyright 2020 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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