DOL Penalties Increase for 2020
The Department of Labor (DOL) published the annual adjustments for 2020 that increase certain penalties applicable to employee benefit plans. Read the full announcement here.
New FSA Notification Law for California Employers 2020
California recently enacted AB1554, which purportedly requires an employer to notify employees of any deadline to withdraw funds from a flexible spending account (FSA) before the end of the plan year. The law applies to health care FSAs, dependent care FSAs and adoption assistance FSAs. Employees must be notified by two different forms, one of […]
IRS Announces 2020 Health Insurer Fee
How it Will Impact the Insurance Marketplace The IRS recently released Notice 2019-50, which outlines the health insurer fee for the 2020 tax year. Background To help fund the creation and ongoing operation of the federal and state marketplace exchanges, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires that all insurers offering fully-insured health insurance programs pay […]
Blue Shield Offers Assistance to Members Affected by Wildfires In California
UPDATED: NOVEMBER 1 SAN FRANCISCO (October 14, 2019) – Blue Shield of California is closely monitoring the impact of the wildfires across the state and the nonprofit health plan is offering the following services to help ensure members in affected areas continue to have uninterrupted access to care. Gov. Gavin Newsom has declared a statewide state of emergency. The […]
Help for Members Impacted by Wildfires in California
We’re taking steps to help our California members and emergency personnel impacted by wild fires. Here’s what members who live anywhere in California need to know: If you have an Anthem prescription drug plan you can get up to a 30-day emergency refill of their medications at any pharmacy now. If you use Anthem’s mail-order […]
Proposed Rules Clarify Individual Coverage HRAs
On September 30, 2019, the IRS published proposed regulations to clarify the application of the employer mandate under the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) and certain nondiscrimination rules under the Internal Revenue Code (“Code”) Section 105(h) to health reimbursement arrangements (“HRAs”) integrated with individual health insurance coverage (individual coverage HRAs, or “ICHRAs”). Notably, the proposed regulations […]
California Enacts A “Two Notice” Requirement for FSAs
On August 30, 2019, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law Assembly Bill 1554, which applies to employers with employees working in California who participate in a flexible spending arrangement (FSA), including a health FSA, dependent care FSA, or adoption assistance FSA. The new state law requires employers to notify California employees who participate in […]
Medicare Part D Notification Requirements
Employers sponsoring a group health plan with prescription drug benefits are required to notify their Medicare-eligible participants and beneficiaries as to whether the drug coverage provided under the plan is “creditable” or “noncreditable.” This notification must be provided prior to October 15th each year. Also, following the plan’s annual renewal, the employer must notify the […]
California Relaxes Registration Requirements for Opposite-Sex Domestic Partners
Effective January 1, 2020, California eliminates the requirement that at least one member of an opposite-sex couple be at least age 62 and eligible for Social Security benefits in order for the couple to register as domestic partners with the state of California. For employers who sponsor fully-insured benefit plans, this may result in more employees […]