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Health & Welfare Plans Newsletter
July 29, 2021
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► 4 New Job Opportunities
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[Guidance Overview]
IRS Releases New COBRA Subsidy Guidance, with Less Than a Week Until Forms 941 Are Due
"[Notice 2021-46] contains some unexpected surprises ... [P]lans and issuers ... now may need to make amendments and/or last minute changes to their Form 941 filings, with only a few days remaining until the July 31 due date.... [C]ertain insurers and plan sponsors that thought they would qualify as premium payees, and thus be eligible to claim the tax credit, may longer be able to." MORE >>
Groom Law Group
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[Guidance Overview]
Proposed Regs Would Substantially Expand Mandatory Electronic Filing of Information Returns
"The requirement to aggregate returns when calculating electronic filing thresholds, combined with the lower thresholds themselves, will likely eliminate paper filings for all but the smallest employers. The regulations' impact would be especially acute for smaller applicable large employers (ALEs), who have been able to file Forms 1094-C and 1095-C on paper when reporting information for employer shared responsibility. Since ALEs by definition have at least 50 full-time-equivalent employees, they are likely to pass the 100-return threshold when taking into account Forms W-2 and 1095-C." MORE >>
Thomson Reuters / EBIA
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[Guidance Overview]
Joint Agencies Issue FAQs Regarding Plan Coverage for HIV PrEP Treatment
"Health plans with policy years beginning on or after June 30, 2020, must cover PrEP as preventive care under the ACA.... The Final Recommendation gives information about whom the USPSTF determined to be at high risk for HIV acquisition.... The Departments' FAQs explain that plans must provide coverage without cost-sharing for PrEP drugs and items and services included as part of determining whether PrEP is appropriate for the individual and ongoing follow-up and monitoring." MORE >>
EPIC
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Scenario Planning Produces Better Benefit Strategies
"The process applies various 'what-if' scenarios to business contingencies so company leaders can make decisions based on the most likely scenario while staying flexible and able to adjust to changing conditions. It's an approach that HR can use to explore how different total rewards packages could maximize value for employees and minimize employer costs." MORE >>
Society for Human Resource Management [SHRM]; membership may be required to view article
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When Your Employee Calls Off Sick with 'Flare-Ups,' Is This Sufficient Notice of the Need for FMLA Leave?
"Using a term like 'flare-up,' which is not tied to any particular medical condition, fails to put an employer on notice of the need for FMLA leave. In this case, the denial of FMLA clearly is defensible.... If Ed had reported that he was having flare ups 'due to his depression,' or that he 'needed to take FMLA' because of his medical condition, this might very well be a different kind of case. These nuances can make or break your FMLA case." [Render v. FCA, No. 19-12984 (E.D. Mich. Jul. 19, 2021)] MORE >>
FMLA Insights
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[Opinion]
Prioritizing Employee Mental Health: Solutions for Congress (PDF)
25 pages. "[S]olutions for Congress to consider [include]: [1] Allow mental health providers to practice across state lines to improve access to care ... [2] Expand telehealth benefits for all employees to improve access to providers ... [3] Ensure patients and plan sponsors have access to meaningful provider quality and safety information ... [4] Modernize health care account rules to increase flexibility for employees and improve access to mental and behavioral health ... [5] Reduce regulatory barriers to encourage employer innovation ... [6] Encourage the transition to value-based payments to better manage the costs of mental and behavioral health." MORE >>
The ERISA Industry Committee [ERIC]
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Benefits in General |
Cybersecurity Best Practices for Employer-Sponsored Benefits
"Begin with a solid working knowledge of the current cybersecurity threat landscape.... Develop and document a formal cybersecurity program.... How does your service provider selection process investigate an entity's ability to adequately protect data it will create, receive, transmit, or maintain on behalf of your employee benefits program? ... What level of oversight do your service provider agreements allow so that you can ensure the providers' security policy and procedure compliance? ... Train (and retrain) your employees at least annually." MORE >>
Gallagher
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Employee Benefits Jobs |
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Webcasts and Conferences (Health & Welfare Plans) |
ARPA COBRA Subsidies
August 9, 2021 WEBCAST
NFP Corp.
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Mental Health Parity: New and Changing Requirements
August 11, 2021 WEBCAST
Faegre Drinker
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Last Issue's Most Popular Items |
Can Employers Offer COVID-19 Vaccine Incentives for Employees?
McDermott Will & Emery
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Form 5500 and New Audit Standard SAS 136
Belfint Lyons Shuman
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Employer Responsibilities Upon Receipt of a National Medical Support Notice
ABD Insurance & Financial Services
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BenefitsLink Retirement Plans Newsletter, ISSN no. 1536-9587.
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