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Health & Welfare Plans Newsletter

September 17, 2021

3 New Job Opportunities

 

[Guidance Overview]

Upcoming Deadline icon October 14 Deadline: Medicare Part D Notice of Creditable (or Non-Creditable) Coverage

"With respect to group health plans including prescription coverage offered by an employer to any Medicare Part D eligible employees (whether or not retired) or to Medicare Part D Medicare-eligible spouses or dependents, the employer must provide those individuals with a Notice ... to advise them whether the drug plan's total gross value is at least as valuable as the standard Part D coverage. Medicare Part D notices must be provided to Medicare-eligible individuals prior to October 15th of each year (i.e., by October 14th)."  MORE >>

Fraser Trebilcock

[Guidance Overview]

Upcoming Deadline icon Five ACA Items Employers Should Know Heading Into 2022

"[1] No more good faith effort or extended due date to furnish forms to employees.... [2] Electronic reporting will soon be required.... [3] Affordability threshold in 2022 is decreasing to 9.61 percent from 9.83 percent.... [5] Full-time employees with a household income above 400 percent of the federal poverty line can trigger a section 4980H penalty in 2022.... [5] The 4980H penalties continue to increase."  MORE >>

Accord

[Guidance Overview]

Exceptional Usefulness and Quality icon Determining Full-Time Employee Status for Purposes of the ACA Employer Shared Responsibility Provisions (PDF)

23 pages. "The focus of this article is on determining employee status for purposes of the Employer Mandate penalty calculations, not on determining employee status for purposes of determining employer size."  MORE >>

Gallagher

[Guidance Overview]

New York Paid Family Leave Benefits Increase for 2022

"The program has been phased in over the first four-year period from 2018–2021, with increased benefits and premiums over the course of the transitional period.... [T]he employee contribution rate [will remain] at .511% for 2022 ... The 2022 premium amount will be capped at an annual maximum employee contribution of $423.71 (up from $385.34 in 2021)."  MORE >>

Newfront

Trends in Health Savings Account Balances, Contributions, Distributions, and Investments and the Impact of COVID-19

"Between 2011 and 2020, end-of-year account balances increased but remained low.... Average total contributions -- combined individual and employer contributions -- increased. However, the average was just above the minimum allowable deductible amount for family coverage and less than one-half of the allowable contribution maximum for family coverage.... Overall, just over half of accountholders withdrew funds."  MORE >>

Employee Benefit Research Institute [EBRI]

Exceptional Usefulness and Quality icon Comparison Chart for Reimbursement Health Accounts: FSA, HSA, and HRA (PDF)

2-page chart provides side-by-side comparison of multiple aspects of each type of account.  MORE >>

TRI-AD

Dentists Chip Away at Uninsured Problem by Offering Patients Membership Plans

"To help patients lacking dental insurance, [one dentist] in 2019 started offering a membership plan that looks much like an insurance policy -- except it's good only at his offices ... Dentists also like the plans better than handling insurance plans because they don't have to deal with insurers' heavily discounted reimbursement rates, waits to get preapprovals to provide services and delays in getting their claims paid."  MORE >>

Kaiser Health News

House Bill Would Lower Employer 'Play-or-Pay' Affordability Percentage

"[The ACA's] benchmark for determining the affordability of employer-sponsored health care coverage would significantly and permanently drop to 8.5% (from the current 9.83% in 2021) of employee household income ... under legislation approved this week by the House Ways and Means Committee.... Additional provisions [in the bill] would: Make ARPA's increased dependent care tax credit permanent.... Make ARPA's increased employer-provided dependent care assistance permanent.... Reinstate and expand bicycle-commuting benefits."  MORE >>

Mercer

Employee Benefits Jobs

View job as Retirement Plan Consultant
for DWC - The 401(k) Experts Retirement Plan Consultant

DWC - The 401(k) Experts

Remote

View job as Retirement Plan Consultant
for DWC - The 401(k) Experts

View job as Employee Benefits Associate
for Willcox & Savage, P.C. Employee Benefits Associate

Willcox & Savage, P.C.

Norfolk VA

View job as Internal Sales Specialist
for Newport Internal Sales Specialist

Newport

Charlotte NC / Folsom CA

Selected New Discussions

'Safe Harbor' for Premium-Only Cafeteria Plan

"Can someone tell me what's the 'safe harbor test' for a premium-only cafeteria plan?"

BenefitsLink Message Boards

Last Issue's Most Popular Items

Imposing Group Health Plan Monthly Surcharges on the Unvaccinated

Mintz

Mental Health Parity: Next Steps for Plan Sponsors

Kilpatrick Townsend

Excluding Gender Reassignment Surgery Comes with Risk

HUB International

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BenefitsLink Retirement Plans Newsletter, ISSN no. 1536-9587.

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