The federal government has now provided employers with additional relaxations affecting tax preferred, Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs), in light of the Coronavirus pandemic. These relaxations come about as a result of the passage into law of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021. It’s important to note that these FSA changes are not mandatory either in total or individually. Employers may opt to amend their FSA plans to allow any or all of these provisions, but are not compelled to do so.
At present (December, 2020) there are several Covid-19 vaccines in various stages of obtaining approval. In particular, 2 are likely to hit the U.S. healthcare system in December of this year, from pharmaceutical manufacturers – Pfizer and Moderna – through a process referred to as “emergency use authorization”, or EUA. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) can approve use of vaccines that have made their way through successful clinical trials, for emergency use, before the drugs are authorized for dispensing to the general public. This blog post addresses some of the pertinent questions relating to the Covid-19 vaccine, such as “who, how, when, why”…
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced on October 2, 2020 that it has extended the period of the national public health emergency related to Covid-19 for a third time. So, health insurance plans* may now extend the end date of any Covid-19 specific plan related cost sharing waivers and benefits to dates of service up to January 20, 2021.
A question I firmly believe is not asked and answered enough these days is – “how much should I budget for healthcare post-retirement (age 65), assuming I leave my employer (or other) plan and elect Medicare”? This includes expenses related to medical/dental/vision, care and insurance premiums, and assumes Medicare (and its various parts/pieces) is in place to protect against catastrophic type loss. Well, the answer might surprise a few folks, and is definitely something to consider if retirement is on the horizon!
Telehealth*, which is sometimes referred to as Tele-medicine, Virtual-Health, Tele-Doc, etc., has grown to become a reliable source of healthcare, particularly during the current Covid-19 pandemic. The virtually immediate, 24/7/365 access to healthcare is appealing to a variety of stakeholders, chief among them those that live in remote or rural areas. A recent source found the use of telehealth increased an impressive 4,347%, or from .17% of claim types to 7.52%, during the period from 3/2019 to 3/2020.
Although a number of Affordable Care Act (ACA) taxes/fees were repealed by the 2019 SECURE Act (see – https://smstevensandassociates.com/aca-taxes-repealed/) , the PCORI fee (also known as the Comparative Effectiveness Research Fee (CERF)) was not, and was in fact extended for an additional 10 years. So in addition to plan years ending prior to October 1, 2019, the PCORI fee will now apply to plan years ending in 2020-2029.
In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Departments of Health/Human Services, Labor and Treasury (DHS, DOL & DOT), along with the IRS have issued (April 29, 2019) guidance that extends many of the deadline dates associated with various employee benefits related time frames.
In light of the Coronavirus pandemic, Congress, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), and the IRS have made key changes affecting the use of tax-free funds that reside in tax preferred spending accounts:
The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted and changed the health insurance landscape for many people. Here’s a review of the various options available to people, depending on their specific situation and eligibility:
On March 27, 2020, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) became law. The CARES Act amends certain provisions of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”). CARES also temporarily eliminates deductibles for certain services in HSA Qualified High Deductible Health Plans (HDHPs), and temporarily expands the list of qualified expenses reimbursable through HSAs, HRAs, and FSAs.
