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Health & Welfare Plans Newsletter

January 27, 2023

2 New Job Opportunities 2 New Job Opportunities

 

[Official Guidance]

Text of IRS Publication 5308: Guide for Automated Enrollment for ACA Providers, Processing Year 2023 (PDF)

73 pages. "The purpose of this document is to describe the User Interface (UI) for the AE for ACA Providers Application ... This guide provides instructions on how to enroll and maintain A2A Client Application Systems using the IRS Enterprise Portal (IEP). Its scope is limited to the ACA functionality of the AE Application. However, this guide does not discuss any administrative aspects of the AE Application nor does it discuss how to use the IEP other than the aspects you need to know to access the AE Application."  MORE >>

Internal Revenue Service [IRS]

[Guidance Overview]

Exceptional Usefulness and Quality icon Transportation Plans Offer Valued Benefits But Pose Compliance Issues (PDF)

17 pages. "Since 1998, employees have been able to pay for qualified transportation fringes through pretax salary reductions ... The tax exemption extends to commuting expenses for transit passes, qualified parking, van pools, and in certain years, bicycles. While these benefits are not subject to cafeteria plan or ERISA rules, compliance difficulties exist, and a 2018 tax law added complexities. Some state and local jurisdictions have imposed employer mandates ... others provide tax-related incentives."  MORE >>

Mercer

[Guidance Overview]

New San Francisco Law Requires Supplemental Compensation During Military Leave

"[T]he Military Leave Pay Protection Act (MLPPA) ... will require employers with 100 or more employees to supplement the pay of covered employees during a qualifying military leave for up to 30 days in a calendar year. The MLPPA takes effect February 19, 2023[.]"  MORE >>

Littler

Take Two: Ninth Circuit Reverses Class Win Against United Behavioral Health

"First, the court found that the plaintiffs did have Article III standing.... [On] the merits of the plaintiffs' claims, the court disagreed with the district court that UBH abused its discretion by interpreting the terms of the plans.... Lastly, and significantly, the court found that the district court erred when it excused unnamed class members from demonstrating compliance with the plans' mandatory exhaustion requirements." [Wit v. United Behav. Health, No. 20-17363 (9th Cir. Jan. 26, 2023)  MORE >>

Roberts Disability Law

Michigan Appellate Court Upholds Existing Paid Sick Leave Law

"[T]he Michigan Court of Appeals reversed a lower court's July 2022 decision that had found the 2018 state legislature's 'adopt and amend' strategy violated the state constitution. As a result, Michigan employers will not be required to ... expand their paid sick leave policies." [Mothering Justice v. Michigan, No. 362271 (Mi. Ct. App. Jan. 26, 2023)]  MORE >>

Miller Johnson

Health Savings Account Balances, Contributions, Distributions, and Other Vital Statistics, 2021

"Despite a rebound in out-of-pocket health care spending in 2021, HSA balances increased on average over the course of the year.... Accounts that received an employer contribution saw higher total contributions and were more likely to invest.... Most accountholders took a distribution in 2021.... Age and tenure play a major role in HSA utilization."  MORE >>

Employee Benefit Research Institute [EBRI]

Middlemen Increasingly Block Patient Access to New Generics (PDF)

12 pages. "New generic drugs offer significantly lower prices for patients. Nonetheless, drug supply chain middlemen like health plans and pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) increasingly block patient access, delaying coverage of new generics in favor of higher-priced brand drugs with high rebates. This report analyzes six years of data showing the extent to which plans and PBMs delay patient access to lower-cost generic drugs."  MORE >>

Association for Accessible Medicines [AAM]

Government Audits Reveal Millions of Dollars in Overpayments to Medicare Advantage Health Plans

"The audits, which cover billings from 2011 through 2013, are the most recent financial reviews available, even though enrollment in the health plans has exploded over the past decade to over 30 million and is expected to grow further.... [A] final regulation could order health plans to return hundreds of millions, if not billions, of dollars or more in overcharges to the Treasury Department -- payments dating back a decade or more. The decision by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is expected by Feb 1."  MORE >>

Kaiser Health News

Benefits in General

Which Benefits Are Valued Most Depends on Age of Workers (PDF)

"[M]iddle-aged employees reported being more likely than younger or older workers to be concerned about various aspects of their well-being. Older workers were, unsurprisingly, focused on retirement benefits. And younger workers highly valued help with day-to-day bills, student loan debt assistance, and career advancement opportunities."  MORE >>

Employee Benefit Research Institute [EBRI]

Employee Benefits Jobs

View job as Distribution \ Loan Clerk
            for Retirement, LLC

Distribution \ Loan Clerk

Retirement, LLC

Remote / Oklahoma City OK

View job as Distribution \ Loan Clerk for Retirement, LLC

View job as Financial Processor (Distributions Specialist)
            for Retirement Solutions Specialists, LLC

Financial Processor (Distributions Specialist)

Retirement Solutions Specialists, LLC

Remote / Jacksonville FL

View job as Financial Processor (Distributions Specialist) for Retirement Solutions Specialists, LLC

Press Releases

PBGC’s John Hanley Named Chief of Negotiations and Restructuring

PBGC [Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation]

Webcasts and Conferences
(Health & Welfare Plans)

The Year Ahead in Benefits Post-Dobbs

RECORDED

Jackson Lewis LLP

End of Public Health Emergency and National Emergency: Considerations for Employers, Insurers and TPAs

February 2, 2023 WEBINAR

Groom Law Group

FMLA Administration in the Digital Age

February 28, 2023 WEBINAR

Disability Management Employer Coalition [DMEC]

Last Issue's Most Popular Items

Projected 2024 HSA, HDHP and Excepted-Benefit HRA Figures

Mercer

Designing Health Plans with Different Strategies for Certain Classes of Employees

Newfront

The Best Benefit for 2023: A Hybrid Work Schedule

VOYA Financial

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

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