Here are some benefits updates and reminders to ring in the new year:
HSA telehealth relief to be extended
In what will come as welcome news to many employers, the Further Continuing Appropriations and Disaster Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2025 is set to extend telehealth relief through plan years beginning before Jan. 1, 2027. Though at the time of writing this bill has not yet passed, it is expected to pass.
Without this relief, employers with high-deductible health plans (HDHPs) would have been required to impose plan deductibles for any non-preventative services offered via telehealth beginning on Jan. 1, 2025. In recent years, many employers have rolled out low-cost telehealth options. These options have been popular with employees but have created a looming headache for those with coverage through HDHP plans, because without specific relief, many of these programs provide services that will need to be subject to deductible minimums for employees to maintain HSA eligibility.
This extension temporarily solves this issue, which will come as a relief to many. We hope to see a more permanent solution in the future.
ACA reporting obligations reduced
For those employers covered by the Affordable Care Act (ACA), reporting forms create a multipronged headache. However, one prong of that burden has been lifted by the Paperwork Burden Reduction Act (PBRA).
Under the PBRA, which will apply to the 2024 Form 1095-C, employers will no longer be required to distribute...
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