April 13, 2023 On January 30, 2023, the Biden Administration announced that both the COVID Public Health Emergency and National Emergency would end on May 11, 2023. Despite this, President Biden signed a resolution ending the National Emergency effective as of April 10, 2023. As a result, employers will now have less time to react to the end of the National Emergency, but this does not mean that all COVID coverage mandates or extensions have ended. What Is Ending? The end of the National Emergency brings the end of the “Outbreak Period” that gives additional time for individuals… Read More
January 31, 2023 President Joe Biden has informed Congress yesterday that he will end the twin national emergencies for addressing COVID-19 on May 11, as most of the world has returned closer to normalcy nearly three years after they were first declared. The move to end the national emergency and public health emergency declarations would formally restructure the federal coronavirus response to treat the virus as an endemic threat to public health that can be managed through agencies’ normal authorities. It comes as lawmakers have already ended elements of the emergencies that kept millions of Americans insured during the pandemic…. Read More
On November 14, 2022, the IRS released Notice 2022-59 which updated the amount of the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Trust Fund fee that self-insured health plans must pay for plan years ending on or after October 1, 2022, and before October 1, 2023. The PCORI fee is calculated using the average number of lives covered under the policy or plan and the applicable dollar amount for that policy year or plan year. The applicable dollar amount was $2.00 when the fee was enacted as part of the Affordable Care Act and that amount is increased annually based on increases in the… Read More
With the release of Revenue Procedure 2022-38 and Revenue Procedure 2022-24 the IRS has set the health & welfare limits for the 2023 plan year. The chart below details the changes made to the limits: Welfare Plan Limits 2023 2022 Health FSA Max $3,050 $2,850 Dependent Care FSA Max $5,000 $5,000 Adoption Credit Limit $15,950 $14,890 HDHP Min Annual Deductible (Single) $1,500 $1,400 HDHP Min Annual Deductible (Family) $3,000 $2,800 HDHP Out of Pocket Max (Single) $7,500 $7,050 HDHP Out of Pocket Max (Family) $15,000 $14,100 HSA Max Contribution Limit (Single) $3,850 $3,650… Read More
The Senate passed the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) on Sunday, August 7, 2022, under its budget reconciliation authority – meaning that a simple majority was needed to pass the bill. Among the provisions in the IRA were provisions to place a cap on the cost of insulin at $35. Under the originally introduced bill, this cap applied to government programs, such as Medicare, and private insurance. Because requiring all insurance policies to have a minimum co-pay of $35 for insulin would cause a high deductible health plan not to qualify as a HSA-qualified high deductible health plan, the bill also… Read More
