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
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
The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2022 (“2022 CAA”), which was recently signed into law, reinstates the exception that allows high deductible health plans (“HDHPs”) to waive all or a portion of participant cost-sharing...more
As health insurers and managed care companies work to serve their patient communities during the COVID-19 pandemic, they must also track and adapt to a multitude of new state and federal COVID-19-related regulatory actions...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
HDHP and HSA participants - The IRS has expanded prior guidance to allow health plans to pay first-dollar costs for testing and treatment of COVID-19 without jeopardizing the participant’s HSA eligibility. ...more
The IRS has taken action to ensure that COVID-19 testing and treatment are not deterred by the rules for high-deductible plans. Health Spending Accounts (HSA) coupled with High Deductible Health Plans (HDHP) have become a...more
Summary - To facilitate the nation’s response to the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19), also known as the Coronavirus, the Internal Revenue Service advised in IRS Notice 2020-15 that a high-deductible health plan (HDHP),...more
The IRS has published guidance permitting High Deductible Health Plans (“HDHPs”) to cover the costs of screening for the COVID-19 virus....more
Many of the nation’s largest insurers have announced that they will be waiving the deductible or other cost-sharing for testing or other expenses related to the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (“COVID-19”). ...more
Washington Health Benefit Exchange Announces Special Enrollment Period - Today, the IRS issued Notice 2020-15 clarifying that high-deductible health plans (HDHPs) may provide benefits associated with testing and treatment...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Recently, the Trump Administration issued its proposed Notice of Benefit & Payment Parameter for 2021 regulations....more
A Health Savings Account (HSA) is a popular vehicle for paying health care costs. Employees find HSAs attractive because they can control the amount of money contributed, determine when to withdraw money, and enjoy the...more
With ongoing uncertainty and turmoil in the individual health insurance market, Congress has spent weeks debating whether to include a bipartisan Affordable Care Act (ACA) stabilization measure as part of the "must pass"...more
Editor's Overview - For over two decades, federal law has required covered health plans and insurers to ensure that certain mental health benefits are in parity with offered medical/surgical benefits. The meaning of...more
After dominating the agenda for most of 2017, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) seemed to take a backseat at first as Republicans shifted their focus to enacting tax legislation. The initial momentum behind the bipartisan...more
On June 22, 2017, the Senate released its much anticipated health care reform legislation – the Better Care Reconciliation Act (“BCRA”) (linked to amended version released June 26, 2017). In many respects the BCRA is similar...more
After weeks of secrecy, the Senate has released a discussion draft of legislation that is the counterpart of the American Health Care Act (AHCA) previously passed by the House. The Senate legislation, entitled the Better Care...more
The focus is on the Marketplaces this week as CMS publishes a new Marketplace stabilization rule, even as President Trump threatens to withhold cost-sharing reduction payments to insurers. In the states, Florida announces...more
The House Ways and Means and Energy and Commerce Committees have released, in two parts, budget reconciliation legislation, the first steps of Congress' proposal to "repeal and replace" the Affordable Care Act. Reconciliation...more
Editor's Overview - It has been a little more than one year since the U.S. Supreme Court altered the legal landscape for litigating ERISA breach of fiduciary duty claims relating to the investment in employer stock...more
Overview - On August 18, 2015, Arizona released the Modernizing Arizona Medicaid proposal for a new 1115 waiver to implement coverage and delivery system reforms in its Medicaid program, the Arizona Health Care Cost...more
Changing reimbursement models and a shift to consumerism were two of the hot topics discussed at Akerman LLP's recent Healthcare Briefing event titled "Financial and Corporate Implications of the Affordable Care Act: A Look...more
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Essential Health Benefits Final Rule and actuarial value regulations offer few surprises and much needed certainty to enable group health plans and health insurance...more