Bulletins

Since the 2010 passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), non-grandfathered health plans and health insurers have been required to provide most preventive care services with no cost sharing. Last Thursday a Texas federal judge ruled that employers cannot be required to provide specific preventive...

The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), adopted in March 2020, provided a package of relief programs to help individuals and families affected by the COVID-19 public health emergency.

Starting in January 2024, a new IRS final rule will require information returns of 10 or more be filed electronically, eliminating the option for most smaller organizations to submit returns by mail. For decades, and through the end of the 2023 calendar year, the threshold requiring an entity to...

The Biden Administration announced on January 30 its intent to end the public health emergency and national emergency on May 11, 2023. In March of 2020, President Trump issued the emergency declaration in response to the nation’s COVID-19 crisis. President Biden extended the national emergency...

President Biden signed into law recently two new protections for pregnant employees that take effect this year.

Flexible spending account (FSA) contributions for 2023 will rise to $3,050, an increase of $200 from the 2022 limit. The limit also applies to limited-purpose FSAs used to reimburse only dental and vision care services. If an employer plan permits carryover of unused health FSA funds, the carryover...

Employers have an annual obligation to issue a creditable or non-creditable coverage notice to all plan participants who are Medicare-eligible, including dependents and retirees. The notice, due by October 15, informs Medicare-eligible participants whether their prescription drug coverage is as...

The IRS recently issued Revenue Procedure 2021-36, lowering the affordability threshold for the 2022 calendar year to 9.61% of household income from the 2021 threshold of 9.83%. This percentage is used to determine an individual’s eligibility for a premium tax credit and the affordability of...

The pronouncement of the COVID-19 National Emergency declared by President Donald Trump in March of 2020, temporarily changed certain deadlines for health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs), flexible spending accounts (FSAs) and COBRA. Just days before the one-year period was set to expire,...

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas City (Blue KC) members can be reimbursed for over-the-counter (OTC), FDA-approved COVID-19 tests by submitting a Blue KC-provided claim form. The OTC COVID-19 test benefit includes up to eight tests per member per month. Members must provide a copy of the receipt...