November 3, 2020
Pandemic Performance Reviews: Should They Stay or Should They Go? Part 2
In the latter half of this two-part series, we pick up on some additional reasons employers decide to halt performance reviews due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and resulting workplace changes. As a recap, part one addressed waiting until things go back to “normal” and not wanting to ...
November 2, 2020
The U.S. Supreme Court and the Future of the Affordable Care Act Part 2
On November 3, 2020, millions of Americans will cast their votes in support of presidential candidates with diametrically opposed views on the future of health care in this country. President Trump has been unwavering in his opposition to the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and has made a consistent ...
November 1, 2020
What You Need to Know about Health Flexible Spending Accounts
11/1/20: Updated for 2021 Health FSA limit and 2021 carryover amount. A health flexible spending account (health FSA) is a pre-tax account used to pay for out-of-pocket medical care costs for a participant as well as a participant’s spouse and eligible dependents. Health FSAs are ...
October 28, 2020
The U.S. Supreme Court and the Future of the Affordable Care Act Part 1
Amy Coney Barrett was sworn in as President Trump’s third U.S. Supreme Court (Supreme Court) Justice on October 26, 2020, to fill the seat vacated by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death. During the contentious confirmation hearings, along political party lines, Justice Barrett was continuously ...
October 27, 2020
HSA SOS
A health savings account (HSA) is an often-misunderstood savings vehicle that gets confused with a flexible spending account (FSA). Until you understand some of the benefits of an HSA, you too may overlook benefits including triple tax savings, investment options and portability. HSAs were ...
October 23, 2020
Invite New Rituals into Your Workday
If you put a magnifying glass up to the disruption at work caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, it is a change management issue at its core. And generally, humans do not like change, especially when it comes as a surprise with little or no choice in the matter. We are creatures of ...
October 22, 2020
2020 ACA Reporting for ICHRAs
2/4/2021 Update: The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued two additional codes for Line 14 of Form 1095-C regarding ICHRA coverage offered to an employee and their spouse, but not his or her dependents. The IRS recently released final instructions for both the 1094-B and 1095-B forms and the ...
October 21, 2020
IRS Releases Final Forms and Instructions for 2020 ACA Reporting
The IRS recently released final instructions for both the 1094-B and 1095-B forms and the 1094-C and 1095-C forms and the final forms for 1094-B, 1095-B, 1094-C, and 1095-C. The forms have generally remained unchanged from prior years. As a reminder, individuals do not pay a penalty for failure ...
October 21, 2020
Compliance Recap | September 2020
September was a relatively quiet month in the employee benefits world. President Trump issued an executive order on An America-First Healthcare Plan, noting the Administration’s actions on healthcare and planned actions going forward. A federal district court halted the repeal of certain ...
October 20, 2020
Advocacy in Action | Negotiating Unexpected Claims
A member contacted The Purple Card® stating that she had just received a $621 balance bill from a provider‘s office for anesthesiology services. The member was unhappy because she had gone to an in-network doctor for the surgery and the member believed everything related to the surgery would be ...
