Believe it or not, it may be time to distribute a new Summary Plan Description (SPD) to include all changes made since the last issuance or a Summary of Material Modifications (SMM) for any amendments adopted during the 2018 plan year.
The Rules: The Department of Labor (DOL) regulations and Employee Retirement Income Security Act
On January 15, 2019, the federal Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals issued its decision in Peterson v. UnitedHealth Group, Inc., 913 F.3d, 769 (8th Cir. 2019), in which the Court upheld the federal district court’s holding that UnitedHealth Group, Inc. (“United”) was not authorized to reduce (or “offset”) payments to medical providers under ERISA
In IRS Notice 2018-94, the IRS announced an extension for furnishing 2018 IRS Forms 1095-B (Health Coverage) and 1095-C (Employer-Provided Health Insurance Offer and Coverage), from January 31, 2019, to March 4, 2019. The IRS issued this extension in response to requests by employers, insurers, and other providers of health insurance coverage that additional
We recently informed you that the IRS reduced the 2018 health savings account (“HSA”) contribution limit for individuals with family coverage to $6,850.00 despite having previously announced that such limit was $6,900. Because of compelling comments from stakeholders, the IRS reversed this decision in Revenue Procedure 2018-27 and the contribution limit for individuals with family
In 2017, the IRS released the 2018 inflation-adjusted figures for contributions to Health Savings Accounts (HSAs). The contribution limits for HSAs associated with High Deductible Health Plans was increased to $3,450 for individuals with self-only coverage and to $6,900 for individuals with family coverage. In December, the President signed the tax reform bill commonly known
The health savings account (“HSA”) has become, since its creation in 2003, an increasingly popular option for employers to subsidize employee group health costs. Employees with HSAs can save money, on a tax-free basis, for medical expenses that aren’t otherwise covered. The account’s interest earnings and distributions (for qualified medical expenses) are also tax-free.
The Department of Labor (DOL) has just published a series of FAQs regarding premium reimbursement arrangements. Specifically, the FAQs address the following arrangements:
An arrangement in which an employer offers an employee cash to reimburse the purchase of an individual market policy.
Where an employer provides cash reimbursement for the purchase of an
Beginning next year, an applicable large employer that does not offer affordable minimum value group health coverage to its fulltime employees (and their children up to age 26) will be vulnerable to employer shared responsibility penalties under Internal Revenue Code §4980H. Whether an employer is an “applicable large employer” depends on its number of fulltime
Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, beginning in 2015, certain large employers who do not offer affordable health insurance that provides minimum value to their full-time employees may be subject to significant penalties. Please refer to our article titled “Health Care Reform: Employers Should Prepare Now for 2015 to Avoid Penalties”
On June 27, 2014, the IRS released Information Letter 2014-0012, which contains guidance for employees who have had the value of same-sex spousal coverage under employer health plans — which until recently was required to be included in gross income — reported on their Forms W-2.
BACKGROUND
Historically, the employer cost of opposite-sex