On Feb. 7, 2021, a group of Democratic senators introduced the Worker Health Coverage Protection Act, which would protect unemployed or furloughed workers from losing their health insurance during the COVID-19 pandemic. The bill would allow laid off workers to remain on their employer health plans, through the COBRA program, at no cost.
The legislation would also provide a 100 percent subsidy of COBRA health insurance premiums owed by unemployed workers to ensure that they do not lose coverage due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Furloughed workers whose health benefits continue while pay is suspended would also have their employee contributions 100 percent subsidized. These subsidies would not impact workers' eligibility for unemployment benefits or other types of state or federal assistance.
In addition, the bill would extend the period during which workers could elect COBRA coverage, and enable workers to access coverage even if they declined it before the subsidy was made available, thereby ensuring continuity of care amid the health and economic challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.
American Benefits Group (ABG) Upping the Benefits Administration Game
In recent years, the US’ employee benefits landscape has rapidly evolved owing to factors such as escalating healthcare costs, changes in employment and benefits laws, and new initiatives and options in healthcare benefits. As employers continue to explore various ways to manage the costs and strategic design of their health benefits programs, integrated consumer-driven accounts such as Healthcare FSA, Health Savings Accounts (HSAs), and Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRAs) play an instrumental role to empower participants with the tools they need to manage their health care spending and out of pocket costs. Delivering comprehensive tools and guidance to manage these accounts in one place with access real time healthcare cost and quality assessment tools and data is a responsibility that Massachusetts-based American Benefits Group (ABG) take very seriously.
The IRS announced Revenue Procedure 2020-45 which provides the 2021 cost-of-living increases for inflation for certain items. In 2021, the:
Annual Healthcare Flexible Spending Account (FSA) contribution limits will not increase they will remain at the 2020 amount of $2,750
Monthly limit for Transit and Parking will not increase they will remain at the 2020 amount of $270 per benefit
Annual maximum reimbursement for a Qualified Small Employer Health Reimbursement Arrangement (QSEHRA) will increase $50 for individual coverage from the current amount of $5,250 to $5,300 and the maximum reimbursement amount will increase $100 for family coverage from the current amount of $10,600 to $10,700
As a reminder, the IRS announced 2021 Health Savings Account (HSA) contributions limit increases earlier this year. In 2021, the annual HSA contribution limit for individual coverage will increase $50 from the current $3,550 to $3,600, and the family coverage contribution limit will increase $100 from the current $7,100 to $7,200.
Please note that this email has been sent to the Company Plan Administrator and Broker Contacts, please share with others in your organization.
If you have any questions, please contact American Benefits Group for more information.
The IRS announced Revenue Procedure 2020-45 which provides the 2021 cost-of-living increases for inflation for certain items. In 2021, the:
Annual Healthcare Flexible Spending Account (FSA) contribution limits will not increase they will remain at the 2020 amount of $2,750
Monthly limit for Transit and Parking will not increase they will remain at the 2020 amount of $270 per benefit
Annual maximum reimbursement for a Qualified Small Employer Health Reimbursement Arrangement (QSEHRA) will increase $50 for individual coverage from the current amount of $5,250 to $5,300 and the maximum reimbursement amount will increase $100 for family coverage from the current amount of $10,600 to $10,700
As a reminder, the IRS announced 2021 Health Savings Account (HSA) contributions limit increases earlier this year. In 2021, the annual HSA contribution limit for individual coverage will increase $50 from the current $3,550 to $3,600, and the family coverage contribution limit will increase $100 from the current $7,100 to $7,200.
Please note that this email has been sent to the Company Plan Administrator and Broker Contacts, please share with others in your organization.
If you have any questions, please contact American Benefits Group for more information.
Recently there have been multiple regulatory announcements regarding Section 125 Cafeteria Plans, Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs), Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRAs) and Health Savings Accounts (HSAs). Please be mindful that not every announcement applies to every plan type, nor to all configurations of a given plan type.
On May 12th, the IRS released Notice 2020-29 and 2020-33. These notices provided new relaxed rules for 2020 for making elections under Cafeteria plans, using amounts during a grace period or carryover period changes to the method determining the carryover amounts under Health FSAs and clarifying which premiums can be reimbursed under ICHRAs. The following is an explanation of both notices.
On May 4, 2020 Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) and Employee Benefits Security Administration (“EBSA”) issued a final ruling regarding the extension of certain COBRA timeframes during the COVID-19 National Emergency in its “Extension of Certain Timeframes for Employee Benefit Plans, Participants, and Beneficiaries Affected by the COVID-19 Outbreak” notice. The intent of this ruling is to provide relief that is immediately needed to preserve and protect the benefits or participants and beneficiaries in all employee benefit plans across the Unites States during the National Emergency.
IRS and DOL Provide Relief for Participants and Plan Sponsors from Certain Time Deadlines Due to COVID-19 Pandemic
Yesterday, recognizing the impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic, the Internal Revenue Service and the Department of Labor released guidance that extends the period of time that a participant has in enrolling in coverage under a health plan, paying for COBRA continuation coverage, submitting claims for coverage and disputing denials of claims for benefits. The guidance also extends the period of time that a group health plan sponsor or administrator has to provide a COBRA election notice. Agency FAQs were also released related to the guidance. Essentially, the guidance provides that actions that must be taken with the time period from March 1, 2020 until 60 days after the time the federal government declares the COVID-19 emergency (referred to as the “Outbreak Period”) has ended will be disregarded .
The guidance states that the following actions that are required to be taken during the Outbreak Period are extended until after the Outbreak Period ends:
This law has many important components, one of which permanently reinstates coverage of Over the Counter (OTC) drugs and medicines as items eligible for reimbursement under Code 213(d) expenses in FSA, HRA, and HSA plans. With this law, the drugs and medicines will no longer require participants to have a prescription to prove eligibility. In addition to the reinstatement of OTC eligibility, the bill expands the eligible OTC definition to include menstrual care products (i.e. tampons, pads, etc.).
COVID-19 Update - Please forward this communication to others in your organization who may need it.
Reminder - We request you help us in an effort to reduce US mail wherever possible
Manual Claim Reimbursement: these can be submitted electronically either by uploading information through the participant portal, using the camera feature with our mobile application or faxing to our secure fax viewer.
Monthly Administrative Service Fee Invoices Payments: communications have been sent to all AP contacts for each organization. Within the communication, we identify alternative methods of payment.
COBRA and Direct Billing: If you are currently receiving your remittances by check we ask that you sign up for ACH. Please reach out to accounting@amben.com.
As we continue to monitor developments and consider American Benefits Group’s response and contingency plans in the context of the coronavirus developments, our priority is the safety of our employees and ensuring our ability to continue to service our clients’ needs.
Our Critical Response Group is composed of leaders and subject matter experts across our business lines. This group is meeting daily to assess the impact across our business and in our communities, advise the executive management, develop and deploy actions.
Today, the IRS announced Revenue Procedure 2019-44 which provides the 2020 cost-of-living increases for inflation for certain items. In 2020, the:
Annual Healthcare Flexible Spending Account (FSA) contribution limits will increase $50 from the current amount of $2,700 to $2,750
Monthly limit for Transit and Parking will increase $5 each from the current amount of $265 to $270
Annual maximum reimbursement for a Qualified Small Employer Health Reimbursement Arrangement (QSEHRA) will increase $100 for individual coverage from the current amount of $5,150 to $5,250, and the maximum reimbursement amount will increase $150 for family coverage from the current amount of $10,450 to $10,600
As a reminder, the IRS announced 2020 health savings account (HSA) contributions limit increases. In 2020, the annual HSA contribution limit for individual coverage will increase $50 from the current $3,500 to $3,550, and the family coverage contribution limit will increase $100 from the current $7,000 to $7,100.
If you have any questions, please contact American Benefits Group for more information.
American Benefits Group CEO and Founder Bob Cummings Reelected as President of NAPBA May 28th 2019 - Bob Cummings has been reelected to serve as President of The National Association of Professional Benefits Administrators (NAPBA). A NAPBA Trustee since 2007, Cummings was first elected NAPBA president in 2015, and has been an instrumental force in the emergence of the Consumer Directed HealthCare industry over the last 20 years, orchestrating the growth of NAPBA as the primary compliance standards and best practice organization for third party employee benefits administrators serving the consumer directed healthcare industry.
