compliance
July 5, 2023
DHS Terminates I-9 Form Remote Option Flexibility
For employers that remotely verified I-9 forms during the pandemic, the deadline for completing in-person verification is fast approaching. As background, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) had provided additional flexibility due to COVID-19 to review I-9 documentation remotely and had ...
July 4, 2023
Compliance Recap | June 2023
June is preparation time for employers with self-funded plans and HRAs. The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) fee will be due for those plans on July 31. Self-insured non-federal governmental health plans can no longer opt out of the MHPAEA, and COVID-19 Form I-9 ...
June 16, 2023
2023 The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) Fee
What is a PCORI Fee? The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) fee, which is also referred to as the Comparative Effectiveness Fee, initially applied from 2012 to 2019. However, in December 2019, the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020 extended the fee to 2029. The fee ...
June 6, 2023
Compliance Recap | May 2023
May brought a reminder memo from the IRS on claims substantiation and payment of medical and dependent care expenses, and an update for the 2024 HDHPs, HSAs, and Excepted Benefit HRA limits. The Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and the Treasury issued an FAQ on the Braidwood ...
May 19, 2023
2024 Limits Announced for HDHPs, HSAs, and Excepted Benefit HRAs
On May 16, 2023, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced the new limits for high-deductible health plans (HDHPs), health savings accounts (HSAs), and excepted benefit health reimbursement arrangements (EBHRAs) in Revenue Procedure 2023-23. The new limits for both HDHPs and HSAs will go ...
May 5, 2023
Compliance Recap | April 2023
While the compliance focus for April continues to be on the Prescription Drug Data Collection (RxDC) of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released a Fact Sheet announcing the 2024 benefit parameters for Medicare Part D. 2024 Benefit ...
April 19, 2023
DOL Signals July 10 as End of COVID-19 Outbreak Period, Despite Early End to National Emergency
On Monday, April 10, 2023, President Biden signed Congress’s jointly-introduced H.J Res. 7 into law, ending the COVID-19 National Emergency immediately instead of on May 11, 2023, as previously announced. However, the Department of Labor (DOL) has unofficially signaled that its previous ...
April 9, 2023
Frequently Asked Questions about the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (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 (HDHP) plans, and health ...
April 7, 2023
FAQs about FFCRA, CARES Act, and HIPAA Implementation, Part 58
The Biden administration has announced its intent to end the COVID-19 National Emergency (National Emergency) and the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE) effective May 11, 2023. As a result, group health plans will no longer be required to cover certain services related to COVID-19 (such as ...
April 6, 2023
Federal Judge in Texas Strikes Down Key ACA Provision Regarding Preventive Care Services
On March 30, 2023, the U.S. District Court in the Northern District of Texas (Court) issued a final ruling invalidating certain provisions of the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) preventive care mandate. Although the ultimate outcome of this decision remains to be seen, the ruling has created some ...
