September saw a lot of activity in the compliance space, especially coming from the federal government.Vaccine Mandate Guidance Still PendingVaccine mandates were on everyone’s mind, especially after Delta Airlines announced its $200 monthly surcharge and weekly testing program for unvaccinated employees. The government joined the fray when President Biden released his Path Out of the Pandemic, a national strategy to combat the spread of COVID-19 variants. It included a series of executive orders requiring federal employees and contractors to get vaccinated, as well as directing the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to draft an emergency rule requiring businesses with 100 or more employees to ensure their workers are vaccinated or submit to weekly testing. Until OSHA releases its emergency temporary standard, employers are left questioning what can and cannot be done to prepare. UBA and Fisher Phillips released a Compliance Advisor on this special topic.IRS Releases Guidance on Sick…

President Joe Biden took aim at vaccine resistance in America, announcing policies requiring most federal employees to get COVID-19 vaccinations and pushing large employers (100+) to have their workers inoculated or tested weekly. The below article outlines more details on these items included in the orders: 1. OSHA is directed to issue Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) requiring all employers with 100 or more employees to ensure that all employees are fully vaccinated or able to produce a negative COVID-19 test result on at least a weekly basis; 2. A new Executive Order requires certain government contractors to comply with guidance, to be published later this month by the Safer Federal Workforce Task Force (Task Force Guidance or Guidance), which presumably will require that employees who work on or in connection with certain government contracts be vaccinated, regardless of whether they work on a federal site; 3. The Centers for Medicare…

ARPA Subsidy Period Expiration Reminder and Updated Guidance Subsidy Period Expiration Notice ARPA requires subsidy expiration notices to be sent to Assistance Eligible Individuals (“AEIs”) prior to the expiration of the Subsidy Period. This Expiration Notice should be sent no more than 45 days and no less than 15 days prior to the expiration of the Subsidy Period. The Expiration Notice should advise of the date the Subsidy is to expire, and a statement that the individual may be eligible for coverage without premium assistance through COBRA continuation coverage or under a group health plan. This notice is not required for instances in which the loss of the Subsidy is due to the AEI becoming eligible for other group coverage or the maximum COBRA eligibility period ends prior to September 30, 2021. We are now within the 45 day period of the subsidy’s expiration date, so the notice may be…

Departments Defer Transparency and Disclosure Rule Enforcement, Provide FAQ Guidance On August 20, 2021, the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor, and Treasury (collectively, the Departments), issued FAQ guidance regarding provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the No Surprises Act (the Act) and the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (CAA). Specifically, the FAQ provide guidance to group health plans and health insurance carriers to help them comply with the final Transparency in Coverage Rules (TiC Final Rules) issued under the ACA and similar provisions in the CAA. This Advisor provides a high-level summary of the FAQ and its impact on employer plan sponsors. Background The TiC Final Rules require non-grandfathered group health plans and health insurance issuers that offer non-grandfathered group or individual coverage to disclose on a public website information about in-network provider rates for covered items and services, out-of-network allowed amounts and billed charges for covered…

June 2021 Compliance Recap June 2021 was not a busy month in the benefits industry, largely due to the summer vacation season and the Independence Day holiday. Importantly, however, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA). Additionally, the IRS unveiled a tool to assist families in taking advantage of the monthly Advance Child Tax Credit payments and issued a revised 2021 version of Form 941, Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Return, to in part reflect the tax credit in connection with 100% COBRA subsidy under the American Rescue Plan Act (ARP). The Department of Labor (DOL) also issued guidance on the information to be disclosed pursuant to a participant’s request during a claims dispute. We continue to monitor and advise on the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association (BCBSA) Antitrust Settlement as the claim deadline nears. The ACA Upheld On June 17, 2021,…

IRS Issues Draft Form 1095-C The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently issued the 2021 Draft Form 1095-C, which is required to be filed with the IRS by applicable large employers (ALEs), to report the offer of health coverage to employees. New Codes An ALE that offers an individual coverage health reimbursement arrangement (ICHRA) can now use two previously-reserved codes in order to report offers of coverage: 1T. Individual coverage HRA offered to employee and spouse (no dependents) with affordability determined using employee's primary residence location ZIP code. 1U. Individual coverage HRA offered to employee and spouse (no dependents) using employee's primary employment site ZIP code affordability safe harbor. Additional Copies of Page 3 Permissible The 2021 instructions also clarify that self-funded plans that are required to complete Part III of Form 1095-C, and that have more than 13 covered individuals on a single Form 1095-C, may use additional copies of…

The IRS Issues the Most Recent Update to Form 941 On June 24, 2021, the Internal Revenue Service issued the most recent update to Form 941, the Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Return. The form has several new lines added to obtain credits for the COBRA subsidies offered under the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). Employers should be using this new revision for filings in the second quarter, due by August 2, 2021. Additionally, some revisions have been made to align Form 941 with the extension and amendments made to the Emergency Paid Family Sick Leave and Extended FMLA provisions included in ARPA. Employers should discard any unused Form 941 with revision dates earlier than June 2021. The new Form 941 may be downloaded here. If you have any questions, please contact us at icomply@ibpllc.com.   This Compliance communication is not intended to be exhaustive nor should any discussion or opinions…

EEOC Extends EEO-1 Deadline for 2019 and 2020 Data Submissions The New Deadline Gives Employers Another Month–Until August 23– To Complete Their Reports   Employers now have some extra time to submit equal employment opportunity (EEO-1) workforce data from 2019 and 2020, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced on June 28, 2021. These reports were previously due by July 19, 2021. Employers now have until Aug. 23, 2021, to complete their submissions. The EEOC’s collection of this data, the portal for which opened on April 26, 2021, had been delayed numerous other times due to the coronavirus pandemic. Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the EEO-1 Report is usually due by March 31 every year. If you have any questions, please contact us at icomply@ibpllc.com.   This Compliance communication is not intended to be exhaustive nor should any discussion or opinions be construed as legal advice. Readers should…

May 2021 Compliance Recap May 2021 was a somewhat busy month in the benefits industry. The absence of a significant of amount of agency guidance during the summer months is to be expected. However, the IRS finally issued guidance on the temporary 100% COBRA subsidy mandated by the American Plan Rescue Act of 2021 (the ARP), following guidance issued by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). The IRS also issued guidance on the Dependent Care Assistance Program (DCAP) carryover of unused benefits and on the child tax credit under the ARP. In addition, the IRS issued the 2022 limits for health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs) and health savings accounts (HSAs). The Biden Administration lowered the cost of marketplace plans and the DOL issued guidance on fiduciary cybersecurity obligations under ERISA covered plans. IRS COBRA Subsidy Guidance On May 18, 2021, the IRS issued IRS Notice 2021-31 in the form of FAQs,…

Frequently Asked Questions About the Patient-Centered Outcomes/Comparative Effectiveness (PCORI Fee) Q1: What plans does the PCORI fee apply to? A1: All plans that provide medical coverage to employees owe this fee. Medical coverage includes preferred provider (PPO) plans, health maintenance organization (HMO) plans, point-of-service (POS) plans, high deductible health plans (HDHPs), and health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs). The fee does not apply to: Stand-alone dental and vision plans (stand-alone means these benefits are elected separately from medical, or the benefits are provided under separate insurance policies from the medical coverage) Life insurance Short- and long-term disability and accident insurance Long-term care Health flexible spending accounts (FSAs), as long as the employee also is offered medical coverage and any employer contribution is (in most cases) $500 or less Health savings accounts (HSAs) Hospital indemnity or specified illness coverage Employee assistance programs (EAPs) and wellness programs that do not provide significant medical care…