Health and Welfare Plans Archives - Page 49 of 129

Fridays With Benefits Webinar | Make Way For The HRA!

by Jacob Mattinson and McDermott Will & Emery | Dec 4, 2018 | Employee Benefits, Health and Welfare Plans

Join us Friday, December 7 for our monthly Fridays With Benefits webinar. New proposed rules make the HRA an interesting option for employers beginning in 2020. Join McDermott lawyers for an interactive discussion regarding the “Integrated HRA” the “Excepted Benefit HRA” and the medical plan design opportunities they present.

Join our lively 45-minute discussion while we tackle the following items:

Can we really get out of the medical coverage game?
How does the Integrated HRA work?
What are the next steps?

Friday, December 7, 2018
10:00 – 10:45 am PDT
11:00 – 11:45 am MDT
12:00 – 12:45 pm CDT
1:00 – 1:45 pm EDT

Register now.

Deadline Extended for Individual Good Faith Reporting and Transition Relief Under ACA

by McDermott Will & Emery | Nov 30, 2018 | Employee Benefits, Health and Welfare Plans

Yesterday, the IRS released Notice 2018-94. This notice extends the due date for furnishing to individuals the 2018 Form 1095-B, Health Coverage, and the 2018 Form 1095-C, Employer-Provided Health Insurance Offer and Coverage from January 31, 2019 to March 4, 2019. Note that the 1095-C reporting to the IRS has not been extended. The deadline for filing to the IRS is February 28, 2019 (if not filing electronically) or April 1, 2019, if filing electronically. This notice also extends good-faith transition relief from reporting penalties for 2018.

Employers with Massachusetts Employees Must File Health Insurance Responsibility Disclosure Form by November 30

by Joseph K. Urwitz | Nov 20, 2018 | Employee Benefits, Health and Welfare Plans

Any employer who has six or more employees in Massachusetts in any calendar month after November 2017 is required to complete a Health Insurance Responsibility Disclosure (HIRD) form by November 30, 2018. The HIRD form is used by MassHealth to collect information about employer-sponsored insurance offerings. The Massachusetts Department of Revenue recently published a set of FAQs stating that the HIRD form:

Is filed by an employer through the employer’s MassTaxConnect web portal (the employer clicks the “File health insurance responsibility disclosure” link to access the form);

May be filed by an employer’s third-party payroll provider on the employer’s behalf, though it is the employer’s responsibility to make sure the form is timely filed;

Will not be used to impose fines or penalties related to the employer’s insurance offerings;

Must be filed annually by November 30 in future years; and

Does not require employees to complete a separate form. Employers may recall that a prior version of the HIRD form which was discontinued in 2014 required both the employer and the employee to complete forms.

The FAQs do not specifically establish a penalty for failing to meet the annual November 30 deadline. There is also a possibility that a court could determine that the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 preempts the HIRD requirement, meaning that employers would no longer be required to file the form if the requirement were challenged in court. However, we recommend employers submit the HIRD form by the fast-approaching deadline on November 30, 2018.

Increase in Health FSA Contribution Limit Just Announced

by Jacob Mattinson | Nov 16, 2018 | Employee Benefits, Health and Welfare Plans

Yesterday, November 15, 2018, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) increased the annual maximum salary reduction limit for contributions to a health flexible spending account to $2,700. The 2019 contribution limit was published in Rev. Proc. 2018-57. The 2018 contribution limit was $2,650, resulting in an increase of $50 for 2019. An employer may use the increased limit for both health flexible spending accounts and limited purposed health flexible spending accounts that it maintains for its employees.

7 Tips to Avoid Compliance Missteps During Open Enrollment

by Jacob Mattinson and Megan Mardy | Nov 6, 2018 | Employee Benefits, Health and Welfare Plans, Privacy and Data Security

One of the busiest times of year for an employee benefits professional is open enrollment. It is a crucial and yet stressful time of year that typically results in numerous employee questions and complaints and is a time of year with high potential for both employer and employee mistakes. Despite the stress and potential for problems, open enrollment provides an opportunity for a company to set itself up for success for the following year.

The Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) does not require an annual opportunity for employees to change benefit plan elections. However, because of compliance issues that can spring from not offering a regular enrollment period, most companies choose to offer an “open enrollment” period, usually taking place in mid- to late fall for calendar-year health and welfare benefit plans.

Employee attention to employer communications during this period is often high, and attention to detail in participant communications behooves an employer during this period. Well-written and timely notices may be relied upon to satisfy many compliance obligations. Inaccurate or incomplete open enrollment materials, however, can create employee confusion and result in legal liability under the complex network of federal laws governing employer-sponsored benefit programs.

Read the full article here for a sampling of key issues to consider to help you avoid compliance missteps during this year’s open enrollment period.

Originally published in BenefitsPRO.com, October 2018.

IRS Announces 2019 Employee Benefit Plan Limits

by Brian Tiemann, Jeffrey Holdvogt and Jacob Mattinson | Nov 2, 2018 | Employee Benefits, Health and Welfare Plans, Retirement Plans

Recently the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Social Security Administration announced the cost-of-living adjustments to the applicable dollar limits on various employer-sponsored retirement and welfare plans and the Social Security wage base for 2019. The table below compares the applicable dollar limits for certain employee benefit programs and the Social Security wage base for 2018 and 2019.*

UPDATE: On Thursday, November 11, 2018, the Internal Revenue Service announced that, for calendar year 2019, the annual maximum salary reduction limit for contributions to a health flexible spending account was increased by $50 to $2,700.

RETIREMENT PLAN LIMITS 2018 2019 Annual compensation limit $275,000 $280,000 401(k), 403(b) & 457(b) before-tax contributions $18,500 $19,000 Catch-up contributions (if age 50 or older) $6,000 $6,000 Highly compensated employee threshold $120,000 $125,000 Key employee officer compensation threshold $175,000 $180,000 Defined benefit plan annual benefit and accrual limit $220,000 $225,000 Defined contribution plan annual contribution limit $55,000 $56,000 Employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) limit for determining the lengthening of the general five-year distribution period $220,000 $225,000 ESOP limit for determining the maximum account balance subject to the general five-year distribution period $1,105,000 $1,130,000 HEALTH AND WELFARE PLAN LIMITS Health Flexible Spending Accounts Maximum salary reduction limit $2,650 $2,700 High Deductible Health Plans (HDHP) and Health Savings Accounts (HSA) HDHP – Maximum annual out-of-pocket limit (excluding premiums): Self-only coverage $6,650 $6,750 Family coverage $13,300 $13,500 HDHP – Minimum annual deductible: Self-only coverage $1,350 $1,350 Family coverage $2,700 $2,700 HSA – Annual contribution limit: Self-only coverage $3,450 $3,500 Family coverage $6,900 $7,000 Catch-up contributions (age 55 or older) $1,000 $1,000 SOCIAL SECURITY WAGE BASE Social Security Maximum Taxable Earnings (dollars) $128,400 $132,900

Plan sponsors should update payroll and plan administration systems for the 2019 cost-of-living adjustments and should incorporate the new limits in relevant participant communications, like open enrollment materials and summary plan descriptions.

For further information about applying the new employee benefit plan limits for 2019, contact your regular McDermott lawyer.

______________________________

*The dollar limits are generally applied on a calendar year basis; however, certain dollar limits are applied on a plan-year, tax-year, or limitation-year basis.

Paving the Way for More HRAs

by Jacob Mattinson and Megan Mardy | Nov 1, 2018 | Employee Benefits, Health and Welfare Plans

President Trump signed an executive order last year directing the Secretaries of Labor, Treasury and Health and Human Services to consider proposing regulations to “increase the usability of HRAs.” This month, the collective departments issued proposed regulations containing changes to the prohibition on pairing HRAs with individual health policies, as well as other changes to the current HRA rules.

Proposed effective date January 1, 2020; comments due December 28, 2018.

Access the full article.

Get Your Game On – How To Handle IRS and DOL Audits

by Allison Wilkerson and McDermott Will & Emery | Oct 25, 2018 | Employee Benefits, Health and Welfare Plans, Retirement Plans

During the Tax in the City event held in Dallas, Erin Turley and Allison Wilkerson gave an overview of benefit plan audits and the IRS examination process. They discussed various areas of focus, including, required minimum distributions, investment issues, benefit calculations and appropriate tax reporting. They provided attendees with best practices before an audit, as well as helpful resources from the IRS and DOL.

View the full presentation.

Bills Ban Gag Clauses in Pharmacy Contracts

by Karen Owen Gibbs | Oct 18, 2018 | Employee Benefits, Health and Welfare Plans

On October 10, 2018 President Trump signed two bills that ban “gag clauses” in pharmacy contracts. Congress passed the two bills—one for Medicare prescription drug plans (“Know the Lowest Price Act”) that will go into effect in January 2020, and another for commercial employer-based and individual policies (“Patient Right to Know Drug Prices Act”) effective immediately—by almost unanimous vote in September 2018.

While many states have already prohibited the use of these clauses, this is the first such action on a federal level.

Gag clauses are sometimes found in contracts between pharmacies and insurance companies, pharmacy benefit managers or group health plans and bar pharmacists from telling customers that they could save money by paying cash for their prescriptions rather than using their health insurance. If pharmacists violate the gag rule, they risk penalties and/or contract termination. Under the new legislation, pharmacists are not required to tell patients about the lower cost option, but they also cannot be contractually prohibited from engaging in the cost conversation.

The legislation is consistent with the position of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), which, in May of this year, issued guidance stating that “gag clauses” are unacceptable in the Medicare Part D program.

Originally published in the Health & Life Sciences News blog.

Internal Revenue Service Outlines Critical Cybersecurity Safeguards to Protect Sensitive Data

by Alan D. Nesburg, PC and Stephen Pavlick | Oct 16, 2018 | Employee Benefits, Health and Welfare Plans, Privacy and Data Security, Retirement Plans

The Internal Revenue Service and the Security Summit partners recently issued a news release outlining the “Security Six,” a list of essential steps to protect stored employee information on networks and computers. Employee benefits professionals, including those who administer welfare and retirement plans for employees and beneficiaries, should review and implement the “Security Six” in order to protect sensitive data from cyberattacks.

Access the full article.

We would also like to thank law clerk Charnae Supplee for contributing to this article.

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