The federal government has announced the current COVID-19 related Public Health Emergency and National Emergency periods will expire on May 11, 2023. These periods were officially opened and recognized by the government effective January 27, 2020, and were designed to make it easier for the nation to deal with the pandemic. Employers need to prepare for the resumption of the guidance that was in place and changed, during the national state of emergency.
The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 (CAA), signed into law on December 27, 2020, has far reaching impact, particularly in the area of healthcare financing and delivery. On it’s surface, the CAA was another coronavirus relief effort, including $900 billion of available funding. But it’s impact and focus on healthcare is profound and will impact virtually every American citizen.
Earlier this week (January 10, 2022) the White House announced a requirement that most private health insurance payers must cover the cost of home COVID-19 test kits, starting January 15, 2022. The new benefit waives any plan related cost sharing (e.g., copay/deductible/coinsurance) for the purchase of a limited supply of physician prescribed home test kits.
The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) signed into law by the President on March 11, 2021 impacts a number of employee benefits related items. For our purposes, this blog post will focus on 4 main areas of impact: 1. COBRA subsidies; 2. Dependent Care FSA (DCA/FSA) changes; 3. Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) changes impacting paid time off; and 4. Employee Retention Tax Credits.
As COVID-19 vaccines become more available, employers may want to consider their options with respect to incentivizing employees to get the shot(s). And as is usually the case in the world of employee benefits…employers need to proceed with caution and care as they ruminate on this matter. Here are some important considerations relative to encouraging employees to get vaccinated against COVID-19 –
The COVID-19 pandemic related CARES Act granted tax preferred status to loan repayment employee benefits. Referred to as loan repayment assistance programs – LRAPs or EAPs (educational assistance programs), this new tax preferred benefit is available through 2025 (unless extended), thanks to the Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) which was signed by the President toward the end of December, 2020. LRAPs/EAPs provide employers with yet another employee recruitment and retention tool, but there are important considerations.
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.
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.
