Cutting Costs With Employee Benefit Plans (Part 3 of 5) – Medical Benefit Costs
Correcting Health Savings Account Contribution Errors
I-22- The Benefits of Benefits: A Roundtable Discussion on Trending Benefits Issues for 2018
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently announced (see Revenue Procedure 2024-25) cost-of-living adjustments to the applicable dollar limits for health savings accounts (HSAs), high-deductible health plans (HDHPs) and...more
It was a lively year for health benefits. Our Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation Group unpacks 2023, from the end of the COVID-19 emergencies to the much-anticipated Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act...more
The IRS has announced the 2024 cost-of-living adjustments for retirement plan and health and welfare benefit plan limitations. The charts below set forth the applicable limitations. Retirement Plans - Similar to...more
In the past two weeks, we have presented a few items that plan sponsors can review in hopes of curbing common employee benefits and executive compensation errors. This week in our Employee Retirement Income Security Act of...more
A recent string of lawsuits, regulatory guidance, and market trends have dramatically impacted the types of services that enjoy first dollar coverage under high deductible health plan (HDHP) and health savings account (HSA)...more
Employers’ high deductible health plans (HDHPs) can continue to cover COVID-19 testing and treatment without violating the eligibility rules for health savings accounts (HSAs)—but only through 2024—under new Internal Revenue...more
On May 17, 2023, the IRS announced the Health Savings Account limits for 2024. With respect to contribution limits, the limits are higher than the ones for 2023 and the required deductible and out-of-pocket maximums have...more
The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 (CAA 2023) holds some welcome news for employers that offer a high deductible health plan (HDHP) option paired with a health savings account (HSA). Thanks to the CAA 2023, these...more
Last week the Senate passed the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2023 (“CAA23”). The House of Representatives will likely consider the measure today, and President Biden is expected to sign the bipartisan measure into law...more
Every day I counsel employers on a variety of issues related to all flavors of employee benefit plans and programs, big and small – and often more complex than they might first appear. ...more
Key Takeaways: ..Group health plan sponsors are wrestling with abortion-related service coverage considerations in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. ..Each...more
As predicted, the United States Supreme Court issued its final decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization overturning the landmark 1973 case Roe v. Wade, which held the U.S. Constitution protected the right of...more
There has never been an ERISA requirement to include elective abortion medical coverage in ERISA group health plans. Even so, many nationwide employers choose to offer it alongside non-elective abortion medical coverage. ...more
On May 2, 2022, a draft opinion from the U.S. Supreme Court case Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health was leaked to the press, and as a result the Court is expected to overturn Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey,...more
The focus of this week’s post is on an emerging hot topic, abortion care travel reimbursement. Reimbursement for travel to obtain abortion care was already something being considered by a number of companies in response to...more
Effective April 1, 2022, high-deductible health plans can once again offer first-dollar coverage for telehealth and other remote services without making participants ineligible for health savings account (“HSA”)...more
John Peterson has created a 2022 ACA Numbers & Limitations Reference Chart. Applicable Large Employer (ALE) Shared Responsibility Penalty (IRC §4980H, Forms 1094-C & 1095-C) ...more
Recently, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced (See Revenue Procedure 2021-25) cost-of-living adjustments to the applicable dollar limits for health savings accounts (HSAs), high-deductible health plans (HDHPs) and...more
Following up on changes to flexible spending accounts (FSAs) implemented by the December 2020 budget bill (the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021), the IRS provided interpretative guidance of its own in Notice 2021-15. ...more
The IRS has announced adjusted benefit plan limits for 2021. These adjustments reflect inflation, and are important for administrators of employee retirement and health plans. The limit on 401(k) and 403(b) plan elective...more
The Internal Revenue Service recently issued Notices 2020-29 and 2020-33, which relax some of the rules applicable to cafeteria plans in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Notice 2020-29 will apply to the vast majority of...more
In response to the realization that many employees will have unanticipated medical and childcare challenges due to COVID-19, the IRS just provided employers with a number of optional amendments that can be made to Section 125...more
Congress has enacted the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the “CARES Act”), the third major federal piece of legislation responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. The CARES Act follows the enactment of the...more
The nation’s lawmakers, government agencies, and insurance carriers are taking measures to remove financial barriers to testing and treatment for the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Employers sponsoring health plans...more
COVID-19 (commonly referred to as the coronavirus) has been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization. The disease is highly contagious, and has recently resulted in unprecedented measures being taken by both...more