Benefits Blast

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently issued Notice 2021-15 (the Notice), which clarifies the provisions of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (CAA) applicable to health and dependent care flexible spending accounts (FSAs), and provides additional relief for cafeteria plans.

The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (CAA) includes a provision allowing employers to make tax-free payments on their employees’ student loans of up to $5,250 per year through January 1, 2026. This is a five-year extension of a provision originally enacted in the CARES Act.

The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (the Act) provides additional funding for mental health and substance abuse services and also provides guidance and imposes additional reporting and compliance obligations on group health plans and health insurance issuers that provide mental health (MH) and/or substance use disorder (SUD) benefits.

In an unexpected but hard-fought win for consumers of medical care, surprise billing reform was signed into law as part of the $900 billion Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021. The aptly-named “No Surprises Act” (the Act) is the result of a multi-year, bi-partisan effort to end surprise billing for medical plan participants and hold them harmless from balance billing by out-of-network providers, including federally regulated air ambulances.

The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (Act), includes relief under tax-qualified ERISA retirement plans with respect to plan loans and withdrawals for certain natural disasters in 2020 through February 25, 2021.

The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (Act), includes relief for sponsors of overfunded defined-benefit pension plans who make qualified transfers to fund a portion of their retiree medical benefit liabilities.

The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (CAA) includes rules requiring brokers and consultants to disclose compensation that those service providers receive to steer health plan sponsors to certain insurance carriers, benefits administrators, and other vendors. These new comprehensive disclosure rules add a layer of transparency to what has otherwise been a gray area for many employer plan sponsors and are more comprehensive than limited disclosures in effect today on the Form 5500.   

Section 201 of the No Surprises Act, recently enacted as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (CAA), prohibits group health plans, health plan insurers, and issuers of health insurance coverage (together, Covered Parties) from entering into contracts that restrict a plan from accessing and sharing certain information.

The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (CAA) includes relief for plan sponsors offering Health Care and/or Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs). These voluntary rules will benefit participants who have FSA funds left over due to medical care provider and school/daycare closures and remote work arrangements in 2020 as a result of the pandemic.

The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (CAA), adds a new annual reporting requirement that requires every group health plan and every health insurance issuer that offers group or individual health insurance to submit an informational report on pharmacy benefits and drug costs with the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Secretary of Labor, and the Secretary of the Treasury. Church plans are exempt from this reporting requirement.