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As you may be aware, the Biden administration previously created an extenuating circumstances special enrollment period (SEP) on HealthCare.gov in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The SEP allows individuals to sign up for coverage (or change plans) without a typical qualifying event.
Individual Coverage Health Reimbursement Arrangements (ICHRAs) are premium reimbursement arrangements that allow employers to reimburse employees for personal health insurance coverage they obtain on their own. Plans such as those offered on the Health Insurance Marketplace or Medicare plans are eligible for reimbursement.
On March 11, 2021, President Joseph Biden signed into law the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). ARPA is the third stimulus package signed into law in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Under ARPA, two significant provisions were included that will help more Americans obtain and pay for health insurance coverage.
Is your benefits administrator not living up to your standards? Are customer service let-downs and reimbursement problems giving you headaches? Are you worried about sticking it out until your next renewal? Well, worry no more! You don’t need to wait until your next renewal to find a better benefits administrator.
UPDATE: We have since received additional guidance from the Department of Labor, which clarifies that the COBRA extension end date is specific to each individual.
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently released Notice 2021-15 which supplements legislation that was included in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 pertaining to new, temporary options employers can implement to their Health and Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts (Health FSAs and Dependent Care FSAs).
Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) are one of the fastest-growing employee benefits-and for good reason! There's no other vehicle under the tax code that has the kind of preferential treatment that HSAs provide. Stacking HSAs with an HRA or FSA maximizes both employer and employee tax savings and gives employees more flexibility to pay for current healthcare needs and save for future needs.
On Jan. 28th, President Biden issued an executive order creating a special enrollment period (SEP) from Feb. 15 – May 15.
Join Flex University and Bright Health's Illinois Broker Manager, Jaizon Plaga, for a virtual product refresher training to get you ready for this new SEP, including:
Why employees should max out their HSA contributions
Most people don’t think about an HSA as a savings account. Instead, they think of it as an account used to set aside money, tax-free, to pay for healthcare expenses. While this is true, the reality is an HSA is much more than a bank account. It’s a long-term savings vehicle.
President Joseph Biden signed an executive order on Thursday which instructs the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to authorize a new special enrollment period in the individual health insurance market. The special enrollment period will be available because of the exceptional circumstances that have been created by the COVID-19 pandemic.
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