compliance

compliance

FAQs on Health Plan Coverage under the FFCRA and the CARES Act

The Department of Labor (DOL), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and Department of the Treasury (Treasury) (collectively, the Departments) have released frequently asked questions (FAQs) regarding group health plan coverage requirements under the Families First Coronavirus Response ...

CMS Letter Summarizing COVID-19 Guidance for Non-Federal Governmental Plan Sponsors

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a letter highlighting COVID-19 guidance relevant to non-federal governmental plan sponsors. The letter highlights guidance that has previously been released and does not issue any new requirements. Requirement to Cover COVID-19 ...

The Patient-Centered Outcomes (PCORI) / Comparative Effectiveness Fee

The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) fee initially applied from 2012 to 2019. However, in December 2019, the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020 extended the fee to 2029. The fee is due based on plan/policy years ending on or after October 1, 2012, and before ...

Compliance Recap | May 2020

May was a busy month in the employee benefits world. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued IRS Notice 2020-29 that provides increased flexibility for making mid-year elections or changes under a Section 125 cafeteria plan during calendar year 2020 and provides increased flexibility to apply ...

IRS Notice 2020-35

On March 13, 2020, the President of the United States issued an emergency declaration under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act in response to the ongoing Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic (Emergency Declaration). The Emergency Declaration instructed ...

IRS Extension of 2019 Tax Filing and Payment Deadlines

On March 13, 2020, the President of the United States issued an emergency declaration under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act in response to the ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Section 7508A of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (Code), as ...

2021 Health Savings Account and High Deductible Health Plan Inflation Adjusted Amounts

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released Rev. Proc. 2020-23 that provides the 2021 inflation adjusted amounts for health savings accounts (HSAs) and HSA-qualifying high deductible health plans (HDHPs). The 2021 annual HSA contribution limit is $3,600 for individuals with self-only HDHP ...

CMS Bulletin on Extension of Timeframes Due to COVID-19

On March 13, 2020, President Trump issued the Proclamation on Declaring a National Emergency Concerning the Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Outbreak and by separate letter made a determination, under Section 501(b) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, ...

Compliance Recap | April 2020

April was a busy month in the employee benefits world. The President signed the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act (PPPHCEA). The Department of Labor (DOL) and the Department of the Treasury (Treasury) released a final rule extending certain timeframes under the ...

IRS Notice 2020-33

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued IRS Notice 2020-33 (Notice) that increases the limit for unused health flexible spending account (health FSA) carryover amounts from $500 to a maximum of $550 (carried over from a 2020 plan year to a 2021 plan year), as adjusted annually for inflation. ...

Brinson Benefits