Have you heard the saying “the eyes are the window to your soul”? Well, did you know that your mouth is the window into what is going on with the rest of your body? Poor dental health contributes to major systemic health problems. Conversely, good dental hygiene can help improve your overall health. As a bonus, maintaining good oral health can even REDUCE your healthcare costs!
Researchers have shown us that there is a close-knit relationship between oral health and overall wellness. With over 500 types of bacteria in your mouth, it’s no surprise that when even one of those types of bacteria enter your bloodstream that a problem can arise in your body. Oral bacteria can contribute to:
Endocarditis—This infection of the inner lining of the heart can be caused by bacteria that started in your mouth.
Cardiovascular Disease—Heart disease as well as clogged arteries and even stroke can be traced back to oral bacteria.
Low birth weight—Poor oral health has been linked to premature birth and low birth weight of newborns.
The healthcare costs for the diseases and conditions, like the ones listed above, can be in the tens of thousands of dollars. Untreated oral diseases can result in the need for costly emergency room visits, hospital stays, and medications, not to mention loss of work time. The pain and discomfort from infected teeth and gums can lead to poor productivity in the workplace, and even loss of income. Children with poor oral health miss school, are more prone to illness, and may require a parent to stay home from work to care for them and take them to costly dental appointments.
So, how do you prevent this nightmare of pain, disease, and increased healthcare costs? It’s simple! By following through with your routine yearly dental check ups and daily preventative care you will give your body a big boost in its general health. Check out these tips for a healthy mouth:
Maintain a regular brushing/flossing routine—Brush and floss teeth twice daily to remove food and plaque from your teeth, and in between your teeth where bacteria thrive.
Use the right toothbrush—When your bristles are mashed and bent, you aren’t using the best instrument for cleaning your teeth. Make sure to buy a new toothbrush every three months. If you have braces, get a toothbrush that can easily clean around the brackets on your teeth.
Visit your dentist—Depending on your healthcare plan, visit your dentist for a check-up at least once a year. He/she will be able to look into that window to your body and keep your mouth clear of bacteria. Your dentist will also be able to alert you to problems they see as a possible warning sign to other health issues, like diabetes, that have a major impact on your overall health and healthcare costs.
Eat a healthy diet—Staying away from sugary foods and drinks will prevent cavities and tooth decay from the acids produced when bacteria in your mouth comes in contact with sugar. Starches have a similar effect. Eating healthy will reduce your out of pocket costs of fillings, having decayed teeth pulled, and will keep you from the increased health costs of diabetes, obesity-related diseases, and other chronic conditions.
There’s truth in the saying “take care of your teeth and they will take care of you”. By instilling some of the these tips for a healthier mouth, not only will your gums and teeth be thanking you, but you may just be adding years to your life.
The ACA requires employers to report the cost of coverage under an employer-sponsored group health plan. Reporting the cost of health care coverage on Form W-2 does not mean that the coverage is taxable.
Employers that provide “applicable employer-sponsored coverage” under a group health plan are subject to the reporting requirement. This includes businesses, tax-exempt organizations, and federal, state and local government entities (except with respect to plans maintained primarily for members of the military and their families). Federally recognized Indian tribal governments are not subject to this requirement.
Employers that are subject to this requirement should report the value of the health care coverage in Box 12 of Form W-2, with Code DD to identify the amount. There is no reporting on Form W-3 of the total of these amounts for all the employer’s employees.
In general, the amount reported should include both the portion paid by the employer and the portion paid by the employee. See the chart below from the IRS’ webpage and its questions and answers for more information.
The chart below illustrates the types of coverage that employers must report on Form W-2. Certain items are listed as “optional” based on transition relief provided by Notice 2012-9 (restating and clarifying Notice 2011-28). Future guidance may revise reporting requirements but will not be applicable until the tax year beginning at least six months after the date of issuance of such guidance.
Form W-2, Box 12, Code DD
Coverage Type
Report
Do Not
Report
Optional
Major medical
X
Dental or vision plan not integrated into another medical or health plan
X
Dental or vision plan which gives the choice of declining or electing and paying an additional premium
X
Health flexible spending arrangement (FSA) funded solely by salary-reduction amounts
X
Health FSA value for the plan year in excess of employee’s cafeteria plan salary reductions for all qualified benefits
X
Health reimbursement arrangement (HRA) contributions
X
Health savings account (HSA) contributions (employer or employee)
X
Archer Medical Savings Account (Archer MSA) contributions (employer or employee)
X
Hospital indemnity or specified illness (insured or self-funded), paid on after-tax basis
X
Hospital indemnity or specified illness (insured or self-funded), paid through salary reduction (pre-tax) or by employer
X
Employee assistance plan (EAP) providing applicable employer-sponsored healthcare coverage
Required if employer charges a COBRA premium
Optional if employer does not charge a COBRA premium
On-site medical clinics providing applicable employer-sponsored healthcare coverage
Required if employer charges a COBRA premium
Optional if employer does not charge a COBRA premium
Optional if employer does not charge a COBRA premium
Multi-employer plans
X
Domestic partner coverage included in gross income
X
Governmental plans providing coverage primarily for members of the military and their families
X
Federally recognized Indian tribal government plans and plans of tribally charted corporations wholly owned by a federally recognized Indian tribal government
X
Self-funded plans not subject to federal COBRA
X
Accident or disability income
X
Long-term care
X
Liability insurance
X
Supplemental liability insurance
X
Workers’ compensation
X
Automobile medical payment insurance
X
Credit-only insurance
X
Excess reimbursement to highly compensated individual, included in gross income
X
Payment/reimbursement of health insurance premiums for 2% shareholder-employee, included in gross income
X
Other situations
Report
Do Not
Report
Optional
Employers required to file fewer than 250 Forms W-2 for the preceding calendar year (determined without application of any entity aggregation rules for related employers)
X
Forms W-2 furnished to employees who terminate before the end of a calendar year and request, in writing, a Form W-2 before the end of the year
X
Forms W-2 provided by third-party sick-pay provider to employees of other employers
Two tri-agency (Internal Revenue Service, Employee Benefits Security Administration, and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) Interim Final Rules were released and became effective on October 6, 2017, and were published on October 13, 2017, allowing a greater number of employers to opt out of providing contraception to employees at no cost through their employer-sponsored health plan. The expanded exemption encompasses all non-governmental plan sponsors that object based on sincerely held religious beliefs, and institutions of higher education in their arrangement of student health plans. The exemption also now encompasses employers who object to providing contraception coverage on the basis of sincerely held moral objections and institutions of higher education in their arrangement of student health plans. Furthermore, if an issuer of health coverage (an insurance company) had sincere religious beliefs or moral objections, it would be exempt from having to sell coverage that provides contraception. The exemptions apply to both non-profit and for-profit entities.
The currently-in-place accommodation is also maintained as an optional process for exempt employers, and will provide contraceptive availability for persons covered by the plans of entities that use it (a legitimate program purpose). These rules leave in place the government’s discretion to continue to require contraceptive and sterilization coverage where no such objection exists. These interim final rules also maintain the existence of an accommodation process, but consistent with expansion of the exemption, the process is optional for eligible organizations. Effectively this removes a prior requirement that an employer be a “closely held for-profit” employer to utilize the exemption.
On November 30, 2017, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released guidance on accommodation revocation notices. Plan participants and beneficiaries must receive written notice if an objecting employer had previously used the accommodation and, under the new exemptions, no longer wishes to use the accommodation process. The Interim Final Rules required the issuer to provide written revocation notice to plan participants and beneficiaries. CMS’ recent guidance clarifies that the employer, its group health plan, or its third-party administrator (TPA) may provide written revocation notice instead of the issuer.
CMS’ guidance also clarifies the timing of the revocation notice. Under the Interim Final Rules, revocation is effective on the first day of the first plan year that begins on or after 30 days after the revocation date. Alternatively, if the plan or issuer listed the contraceptive benefit in its Summary of Benefits and Coverage (SBC), then the plan or issuer must give at least 60 days prior notice of the accommodation revocation (SBC notification process). CMS’ guidance indicates that, even if the plan or issuer did not list the contraceptive benefit in its SBC, the employer is permitted to use the 60-day advance notice method to revoke the accommodation as long as the revocation is consistent with any other applicable laws and contract provisions regarding benefits modification.
Further, if the employer chooses not to use the SBC notification process to notify plan participants and beneficiaries of the accommodation revocation and if the employer instructs its issuer or TPA not to use the SBC notification process on the employer’s behalf, then the employer, its plan, issuer, or TPA must send a separate written revocation notice to plan participants and beneficiaries no later than 30 days before the first day of the first plan year in which the revocation will be effective.
Unlike the SBC notification process, which would allow mid-year benefit modification, if an employer uses the 30-day notification process, the modification can only be effective at the beginning of a plan year.
Employers that object to providing contraception on the basis of sincerely held religious beliefs or moral objections, who were previously required to offer contraceptive coverage at no cost, and that wish to remove the benefit from their medical plan are still subject (as applicable) to ERISA, its plan document and SPD requirements, notice requirements, and disclosure requirements relating to a reduction in covered services or benefits. These employers would be obligated to update their plan documents, SBCs, and other reference materials accordingly, and provide notice as required.
Employers are also now permitted to offer group or individual health coverage, separate from the current group health plans, that omits contraception coverage for employees who object to coverage or payment for contraceptive services, if that employee has sincerely held religious beliefs relating to contraception. All other requirements regarding coverage offered to employees would remain in place. Practically speaking, employers should be cautious in issuing individual policies until further guidance is issued, due to other regulations and prohibitions that exist.
By Danielle Capilla
Originally Published By United Benefit Advisors
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:
IRS-Only Questions. IRS-only questions that filers were not required to complete on the 2016 Form 5500 have been removed from the Form 5500 and Schedules.
Authorized Service Provider Signatures. The instructions for authorized service provider signatures have been updated to reflect the ability for service providers to sign electronic filings on the plan sponsor and Direct Filing Entity (DFE) lines, where applicable, in addition to signing on behalf of plan administrators on the plan administrator line.
Administrative Penalties. The instructions have been updated to reflect that the new maximum penalty for a plan administrator who fails or refuses to file a complete or accurate Form 5500 report has been increased to up to $2,097 a day for penalties assessed after January 13, 2017, whose associated violations occurred after November 2, 2015. Because the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Improvements Act of 2015 requires the penalty amount to be adjusted annually after the Form 5500 and its schedules, attachments, and instructions are published for filing, be sure to check for any possible required inflation adjustments of the maximum penalty amount that may have been published in the Federal Register after the instructions have been posted.
Form 5500-Plan Name Change. Line 4 of the Form 5500 has been changed to provide a field for filers to indicate that the name of the plan has changed. The instructions for line 4 have been updated to reflect the change. The instructions for line 1a have also been updated to advise filers that if the plan changed its name from the prior year filing or filings, complete line 4 to indicate that the plan was previously identified by a different name.
Filing Exemption for Small Plans. The instructions indicate that for a small unfunded, insured, or combination welfare plan to qualify for the filing exemption, the plan must not be subject to the Form M-1 filing requirements.
Be aware that the advance copies of the 2017 Form 5500 are for informational purposes only and cannot be used to file a 2017 Form 5500 annual return/report.
By Danielle Capilla
Originally Published By United Benefit Advisors
