"Use a separate Form 7206 for each trade or business under which an insurance plan is established."  MORE >>

36 pages; Dec. 4, 2024. "What's New ... [1] For 2025, the monthly exclusion for qualified parking is $325 and the monthly exclusion for commuter highway vehicle transportation and transit passes is $325.... [2] For plan years beginning in 2025, a cafeteria plan may not allow an employee to request salary reduction contributions for a health FSA in excess of $3,300."  MORE >>

"The fee will now be $3.47 per plan enrollee, up from $3.22 for the 2024 plan year. The annual fee is paid using quarterly excise tax Form 720 and must be remitted to the IRS no later than July 31st of the year following the last day of the plan year, which includes calendar-year plans. For plan years ending in 2024, PCORI is due by July 31, 2025. For plan years ending January 2025 through September 2025, PCORI fees are not due until July 31, 2026."  MORE >>

"[E]ffective January 1, 2025, New York employers will be required to provide employees with 20 hours of paid prenatal leave. Employees will be able to take such leave for prenatal healthcare service appointments during their pregnancy or related to their pregnancy. New York State recently issued FAQ guidance explaining certain aspects of the new law."  MORE >>

"Employees are only eligible to use paid prenatal leave if they are directly receiving prenatal healthcare services. The FAQs explain that this benefit cannot be used by spouses or partners of pregnant employees to attend prenatal appointments.... [T]he scope of use includes fertility treatment or care appointments, in vitro fertilization, end-of-pregnancy care appointments, and post-natal or postpartum appointments.... [E]mployers are limited in controlling an employee's use of paid prenatal leave or requiring medical documentation."  MORE >>

"Using telehealth to help patients and providers maintain access to care was a top priority during the pandemic. However, some critical policy decisions, such as whether to treat audio-only visits the same way as video visits, have raised concerns about care quality. Telehealth access appears to be uneven, with individuals in low-income or rural areas having less access to broadband internet that enables video calls. These issues will need continued research ... Policymakers might also want to begin thinking of telehealth less as an either-or proposition (i.e., either telehealth or office visits) and more in terms of how the two modalities can be used in a hybrid format."  MORE >>

"With only 27 days to go before COVID-era telehealth flexibilities expire, a major health IT group along with 62 healthcare organizations [is] urgently calling on Congress, again, to take immediate action and grant a two-year extension.... Without action from Congress, access to care will be interrupted and the nation's most vulnerable patents will be impacted, the organizations said. "  MORE >>

"With the December 23, 2024 compliance date for certain changes under the 2024 Final Rule (including the requirement to obtain a written attestation from requestors of reproductive PHI) ... OCR's specific call-out of reproductive health information in [a recent] resolution agreement sends a strong signal that OCR is committed to enforcing the new rules to protect the privacy of reproductive health information."  MORE >>

"Although the STD plan met all the requirements for the 'payroll practice' exception, the employer claimed a plan can still be subject to ERISA as long as the employer treats the plan as an ERISA plan.... [T]he court ruled that an employer's labeling of a plan as ERISA-covered does not determine whether it is, in fact, subject to ERISA. Further, it ruled that, in determining whether a 'plan' has been established within the meaning of ERISA, the fact that the employer complied with some of ERISA's requirements is not enough by itself to establish that the STD program constitutes an ERISA plan." [Hansen v. Lab. Corp. of America, No. 24-0807 (D. Wisc. Oct. 24, 2024)]  MORE >>

"Group health plans: HIPAA and reproductive health care ... Gag clause attestation ... MHPAEA and the fiduciary certification ... HDHPs, HSAs, and telehealth ... 401(k) plans and 403(b) plans: Elective deferral eligibility for long-term, part-time employees ... 401(k) plans, 403(b) plans, and governmental 457(b) plans: Increase in catch-up limit for individuals aged 60-63 ... 12-month time frame to allocate forfeitures."  MORE >>

"Manufacturing and construction industries face unique workforce challenges, including a high turnover rate and safety concerns. Offering competitive benefits like comprehensive health insurance, retirement plans, and flexible scheduling can help attract and retain top talent."  MORE >>