It was recently unveiled the latest findings from our 2017 Health Plan Survey. With data on 20,099 health plans sponsored by 11,221 employers, the UBA survey is nearly three times larger than the next two of the nation’s largest health plan benchmarking surveys combined. To learn more, watch this short video below.
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) released advance informational copies of the 2017 Form 5500 annual return/report and related instructions.
Specifically, the instructions highlight the following modifications to the forms, schedules, and instructions:
By Danielle Capilla
Originally Published By United Benefit Advisors
As 2017 comes to a close, it’s time to act on the money sitting in your Flexible Spending/Savings Account (FSA). Unlike a Health Savings Account or HSA, pre-taxed funds contributed to an FSA are lost at the end of the year if an employee doesn’t use them, and an employer doesn’t adopt a carryover policy. It’s to your advantage to review the various ways you can make the most out of your FSA by year-end.
Book Those Appointments
One of the first things you should do is get those remaining appointments booked for the year. Most medical/dental/vision facilities book out a couple of months in advance, so it’s key to get in now to use up those funds.
Look for FSA-Approved Everyday Health Care Products
Many drugstores will often advertise FSA-approved products in their pharmacy area, within a flyer, or on their website. These products are usually tagged as “FSA approved”. Many of these products include items that monitor health and wellness – like blood pressure and diabetic monitors – to everyday healthcare products like children’s OTC meds, bandages, contact solution, and certain personal care items. If you need to use the funds up before the end of the year, it’s time to take a trip to your local drugstore and stock up on these items.
Know What’s Considered FSA-Eligible
Over the last several years, the IRS has loosened the guidelines on what is considered eligible under a FSA as more people became concerned about losing the money they put into these plans. There are many items that are considered FSA-eligible as long as a prescription or a doctor’s note is provided or kept on file. Here are a few to consider:
Talk to Your HR Department
When the IRS loosened guidelines a few years ago, they also made it possible for participants to carry over $500 to the next year. Ask Human Resources if your employer offers this, or if they provide a grace period (March 15 of the following year) to turn in receipts and use up funds. Employers can only adopt one of these two policies though.
Plan for the Coming Year
Analyze the out-of-pocket expenses you incurred this year and make the necessary adjustments to allocate what you believe you’ll need for the coming year. Take advantage of the slightly higher contribution limit for 2018. If your company offers a FSA that covers dependent care, familiarize yourself with those eligible expenses and research whether it would be to your advantage to contribute to as well.
Flexible Spending/Saving Accounts can be a great employee benefit offering tax advantages for employees that have a high-deductible plan or use a lot of medical. As a participant, using the strategies listed above will help you make the most out of your FSA.
When most experts think of group healthcare plans, Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) plans largely come to mind—though higher cost, they dominate the market in terms of plan distribution and employee enrollment. But Consumer-Directed Health Plans (CDHPs) have made surprising gains. Despite slight cost increases, CDHP costs are still below average and prevalence and enrollment in these plans continues to grow in most regions—a main reason why it was one of the top 7 survey trends recently announced.
In 2017, 28.6% of all plans are CDHPs. Regionally, CDHPs account for the following percentage of plans offered:
CDHPs have increased in prevalence in all regions except the West. The North Central U.S. saw the greatest increase (13.2%) in the number of CDHPs offered. Looking at size and industry variables, several groups are flocking to CDHPs:
When it comes to enrollment, 31.5% of employees enroll in CDHP plans overall, an increase of 19.3% from 2016, after last year’s stunning increase of 21.7% from 2015. CDHPs see the most enrollment in the North Central U.S. at 46.3%, an increase of 40.7% over 2016. For yet another year in the Northeast, CDHP prevalence and enrollment are nearly equal; CDHP prevalence doesn’t always directly correlate to the number of employees who choose to enroll in them. Though the West held steady in the number of CDHPs offered, there was a 2.6% decrease in the number of employees enrolled. The 12.6% increase in CDHP prevalence in the North Central U.S. garnered a large 40.7% increase in enrollment. CDHP interest among employers isn’t surprising given these plans are less costly than the average plan. But like all cost benchmarks, plan design plays a major part in understanding value. The UBA survey finds the average CDHP benefits are as follows:
By Bill Olson
Originally Published By United Benefit Advisors
Beginning in 2015, to comply with the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), “large” employers must offer their full-time employees health coverage, or pay one of two employer shared responsibility / play-or-pay penalties. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) determines the penalty each calendar year after employees have filed their federal tax returns.
In November 2017, the IRS indicated on its “Questions and Answers on Employer Shared Responsibility Provisions Under the Affordable Care Act” webpage that, in late 2017, it plans to issue Letter 226J to inform large employers of their potential liability for an employer shared responsibility payment for the 2015 calendar year.
The IRS’ determination of an employer’s liability and potential payment is based on information reported to the IRS on Forms 1094-C and 1095-C and information about the employer’s full-time employees that were received the premium tax credit.
The IRS will issue Letter 226J if it determines that, for at least one month in the year, one or more of a large employer’s full-time employees was enrolled in a qualified health plan for which a premium tax credit was allowed (and the employer did not qualify for an affordability safe harbor or other relief for the employee).
Letter 226J will include:
If an employer responds to Letter 226J, then the IRS will acknowledge the response with Letter 227 to describe further actions that the employer can take.
After receiving Letter 227, if the employer disagrees with the proposed or revised shared employer responsibility payment, the employer may request a pre-assessment conference with the IRS Office of Appeals. The employer must request the conference by the response date listed within Letter 227, which will be generally 30 days from the date of the letter.
If the employer does not respond to either Letter 226J or Letter 227, then the IRS will assess the proposed employer shared responsibility payment amount and issue a notice and demand for payment on Notice CP 220J.
Notice CP 220J will include a summary of the employer shared responsibility payment, payments made, credits applied, and the balance due, if any. If a balance is due, Notice CP 220J will instruct an employer how to make payment. For payment options, such as an installment agreement, employers should refer to Publication 594 “The IRS Collection Process.”
Employers are not required to make payment before receiving a notice and demand for payment.
By Danielle Capilla
Originally Published By United Benefit Advisors
