Below you will find a link to our legal alert on Notice 2019­63, which extends the deadline to provide 2019 Forms 1095­B and 1095­C to employees from January 31, 2020 to March 2, 2020. Note that the deadline for sending the forms to the IRS remains February 28, 2020 (March 31, 2020 if filed electronically). As in past years, the IRS has also extended transition relief for errors made in good faith.

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What Employers Need to Know About the New Transparency Rules

A Note from Danielle Capilla, Alera Group’s Director of Compliance, Employee Benefits

Employers who sponsor group health plans, whether fully insured or selffunded, should familiarize themselves with the requirements outlined in the proposed rule and watch for additional news on this topic. Currently, it is too soon to answer specific questions on how this rule might be implemented, or if it will even be finalized, but if it is finalized it has the potential to create new employer obligations.

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On November 6th, 2019, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released Revenue Procedure 2019-44, which raises the health Flexible Spending Account (FSA) salary reduction contribution limit by $50 to $2,750 for plan years beginning in 2020. The Revenue Procedure also contains the cost-of-living adjustments that apply to dollar limitations in certain sections of the Internal Revenue Code.

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Below you will find a link to our alert on DOL FAQ #40, which describes the Departments’ non­enforcement policy with respect to group health plans and health insurance issues that do not count a prescription drug manufacturer’s coupons as participant cost sharing toward the ACA’s out­of­pocket limit.  The DOL issued this FAQ after questions were raised as a result of a recent HHS rule.

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Below please find a link to our legal alert on Rev. Proc. 2019=­29, which contains the inflation adjusted amounts for 2020 used to determine whether employer­sponsored coverage is “affordable” for purposes of the ACA’s employer mandate and premium tax credit program. As shown in the table below, for plan years beginning in 2020, the affordability percentage for employer mandate purposes is indexed to 9.78%, a slight decrease from 9.86% in 2019.

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On June 24, 2019, President Trump issued an Executive Order intending to develop price and quality transparency initiatives to ensure that healthcare patients can make well-informed decisions about their care. This is part of the consumer-driven healthcare initiative, which has been a focus of government and patient groups alike to have more transparency regarding the cost of services from hospitals and other healthcare providers, as well as expanding the ability to use certain pre-tax health spending arrangements. The goal is to help consumers to make better informed decisions regarding their healthcare. It is also intended to address so-called “surprise billing,” which can expose patients to unexpected medical bills. The Executive Order directs federal agencies to promulgate regulations and issue guidance to meet these objectives.

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In Rev. Proc. 2019-25, the IRS released the inflation adjusted amounts for 2020 relevant to HSAs and high deductible health plans (HDHPs).

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On Friday, a district court judge in Texas found the ACA to be unconstitutional after the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act’s changes to the ACA’s individual mandate penalty. The ACA remains in effect pending appeal of the judge’s decision, and employers are advised to continue to abide by the ACA’s employer mandate and reporting requirements.

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The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has extended the deadline for furnishing 2018 Forms 1095-B and 1095-C to individuals from January 31, 2019 to March 4, 2019, as well as extended penalty relief for good-faith reporting errors. The due date for filing the forms with the IRS was not extended and remains February 28, 2019 (April 1, 2019 if filed electronically).

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On November 15, 2018, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced an increase to the health Flexible Spending Account (FSA) salary reduction contribution limit of $50 to $2,700 for plan years beginning in 2019 along with other cost-of-living adjustments that apply to dollar limitations in certain sections of the Internal Revenue Code. This Legal Alert summarizes the adjustments relevant to individuals and employer sponsors of welfare and fringe benefit plans.

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