BAS has transitioned all client accounts to an updated version of MyEnroll.com.  One new feature of the updated site includes a fully renovated Employee Home Page (“EHP”).

Each employer may name the home page to satisfy the employer’s preferences.  An employer may consider renaming the EHP “General Information” or another appropriate, personalized title.  Regardless of its name, the EHP is the primary page that presents when administrators access the MyEnroll.com “Employee” module, and when employees log in to their MyEnroll.com personal accounts.

Customization Option

Each BAS client can choose how much of their employees’ personal information (i.e., name, home address, phone numbers, and email addresses) administrators and employees may edit online.
 
These edit controls can apply to each data field, individually, and allow the following edit permissions: (1) Allow BAS Edits Only, (2) Allow BAS & Administrator Edits Only, or (3) Allow BAS, Administrators & Employees Edits.  Specified permissions may be applied to each of the editable fields, in any combination.  Edit controls may be applied to the following data:
 
1.     Employee’s First Name
2.     Employee’s Middle Initial
3.     Employee’s Last Name
4.     Employee’s Home Address Line 1
5.     Employee’s Home Address Line 2
6.     Employee’s Home City
7.     Employee’s Home State
8.     Employee’s Home Zip Code
9.     Employee’s Home Phone Number
10.   Employee’s Work Phone
11.   Employee’s Work Email
12.   Employee’s Alternate/Personal Email
 
Note: Employees may not edit their own Status and Benefits Class data, as presented in the far right section of the EHP.

For more information about this free Employee Home Page customization capability, please contact your BAS account manager or call our client services center at 1.800.945.5513 and select menu option #1.

Benefit Allocation Systems, Inc. has expanded its Employee & Retiree Verification (“ERV”) service that helps employers prevent identity fraud in their group health plans.

BAS’ ERV service provides employers a vehicle for confirming that employees, retirees and dependents covered under the employer’s group health plans are not identified by the government as deceased.  One purpose of the service is to identify group health plan participants who are unlawfully using a Social Security number belonging to a deceased United States citizen.  Another purpose is to identify retirees who have passed away but continue to have active records in the group health plan because no one notified the plan on behalf of the deceased.

BAS’s ERV service offers an extremely fast and easy process for comparing employees’, retirees’, and dependents’ Social Security numbers with more than 89 million Social Security numbers of deceased United States citizens.

Data File

BAS maintains a copy of the Death Master File (DMF) from the Social Security Administration (SSA) that contains over 89 million records of deaths that have been reported to SSA. This file includes the following information on each decedent, if the data are available to the SSA:  Social Security number, name, date of birth, date of death, state or country of residence (2/88 and prior), ZIP code of last residence, and ZIP code of lump sum payment.  By methodically comparing employees’, retirees’ and dependents’ Social Security numbers against the DMF, BAS’ clients are better able to identify an unauthorized use of a deceased individual’s Social Security number.  It is also a useful tool for group health and pension plans to monitor retirees and dependents to verify payments are being made to recipients who are not deceased, and to individuals who are not using falsified Social Security numbers.

For more information about BAS’ Employee & Retiree Verification Service, please contact Robin Block @ RBlock@BASusa.com or sales@BASusa.com.

Last week, the federal government launched www.BusinessUSA.gov, a self-proclaimed “one-stop shop for everything related to business in the USA.”

BusinessUSA.gov organizes various government websites and contact information and provides resources that may be of interest to businesses.  It is intended as a vehicle for connecting businesses to services and information that may be relevant to their operations.  A goal of the website is for an increasing number of federal agencies to continually add resources to capture a full range of business programs and services.

The website also organizes business references on a state-by-state basis and provides a list of topical seminars and events.  The website says it is a “beta version” first step and solicits input from consumers.

This new use of technology by the federal government may be helpful for businesses as they grow and look for resources for addressing governmental compliance issues.

Q- My company is changing the number of work hours required for benefits eligibility.  Previously, employees had to work 20 hours a week to be eligible for benefits.  The requirement is being increased to 35 hours a week for benefits eligibility.  Will individuals working between 20 and 35 hours who lose health coverage be entitled to elect COBRA continuation coverage?

A- No.  COBRA coverage is offered if an individual loses coverage due to a COBRA qualifying event.  A COBRA qualifying event includes a termination of employment, reduction of hours, divorce or legal separation, death of employee, dependent child ceasing to be a dependent, entitlement to Medicare, and bankruptcy.  A change in plan terms that causes an individual no longer be eligible for coverage is not a COBRA qualifying event.

As part of its ongoing effort to afford the highest level of privacy and security to information in MyEnroll.com, BAS provides an easy and secure method to transmit employee data files or any document that needs to be shared.  MyEnroll users can upload information in the MyEnroll system to BAS Administrators, Employer Administrators, Insurance Brokers and other third parties who have access to MyEnroll.com’s Secure File menu item.  
 
The data will be accessed in a secure manner by logging in to the MyEnroll.com SSL protected website with appropriate user-id and password.
 
The process of uploading a secure file is as simple as selecting the individuals who will receive the file from the available list, attaching the file, and adding a subject or brief message about the file. The recipients will receive an email from MyEnroll.com notifying them that they have been sent a Secure File and instructing them to log on to MyEnroll.com to retrieve the file from the Administrator menu.
 
Presently, files sent using this security feature will continue to remain accessible through MyEnroll.com indefinitely, should the information need to be retrieved again.

For more information, please contact PR@BASusa.com.

MyEnroll.com provides a centralized location for an employer’s Human Resources documents, forms and links while providing easy access for employees through the online Reference Library.  An employer may customize the Reference Library to grant access to all employees, or to restrict access to specific Benefit Classes.  This unique feature gives an employer the tools it needs to customize information provided to employees on a class-by-class basis.

Employers can build their own Reference Library by creating categories to easily group documents making it simple for employees to locate information. There is no limitation on the number of categories that can be created, or the number of documents or forms maintained in MyEnroll.com. Here are just a few examples of categories and what they may contain:

• Flexible Spending Account (FSA)
• FSA Plan Document
• Frequently Asked Questions
• How to use the Debit Card
• Vacation
• Vacation Policy
• Vacation Request Form
• Life Events
• Life Event Matrix
• Life Event Change Form
• Medical
• Medical Plan SPD(s)
• Link to medical plan website to locate a Provider
• Continuing Education
• Continuing Education Policy
• Continuing Education Reimbursement Application

The Reference Library is plan year specific, allowing an employer the ability to update documents for a new plan year in advance of open enrollment, while employees still have access to the current plan year documents.
 
Documents can be uploaded once and easily copied to one or all Benefit Classes and multiple categories at the same time, making it simple to easily remove and replace an outdated form or document.

For more information about creating a Reference Library, please contact PR@BASusa.com.

Q- My parents live with me.  May I submit my parents’ expenses for reimbursement from my Flexible Spending Accounts?

A- In order for an expense to be reimbursed from a health FSA, it must be for medical care and it must be incurred by an employee, spouse, child under age 27 or other individual who is considered a tax dependent for health coverage purposes.  An employee’s parent will generally be considered a tax dependent for health coverage purposes if the employee provides over half of the parent’s support and the parent is not another person’s qualifying child.  Check the terms of your health FSA plan.

In order for a day care expense of a parent to be reimbursed from a dependent care FSA, the expense must be for care, the parent must be a dependent of the employee who is physically or mentally incapable of self-care, and the parent must share the same home as the employee for more than half of the year.  If the expense is provided outside the home, the parent must reside at least 8 hours a day in the employee’s home.  Check the terms of your dependent care FSA plan.

Small employers providing employee health coverage may be eligible to claim a tax credit under federal law.  To be eligible for the credit, an employer must employ fewer than 25 full-time employees (or fewer than a combination of 25 full-time and part-time employees) with average wages of less than $50,000 a year.  An employer must pay at least 50 percent of the cost of single (not family) health care coverage for each employee.  Small businesses who do not owe tax during the year may be able to carry the credit back or forward to other years.  In some instances, the credit may be claimed in addition to the business expense deduction for premiums in excess of the credit.

For tax years 2010 through 2013, only premiums paid to a health insurance issuer count for purposes of the credit.  The maximum credit is 35 percent for small business employers and 25 percent for small tax-exempt employers (such as charities).  In 2014, the rate will increase to 50 percent and 35 percent.  Small businesses may wish to review tax credit requirements and consider if they will claim, or be able to claim, the small business health care tax credit.  The review will involve reviewing the demographics of the workforce and gathering information on health care premium expenditures. 

One highly lauded provision of the Affordable Care Act is the requirement that non-grandfathered health plans offer certain types of preventive health care services without cost-sharing in the first plan year beginning on or after August 1, 2012.  The prohibition on cost-sharing includes a ban on charging participants any deductible, co-payment or similar cost-sharing amount.  Co-payments may still be charged for office visits when the preventive care service is billed separately (or tracked as separate encounter data) or when the office visit does not primarily pertain to the preventive care service.  Co-payments may also be charged for out-of-network care.

Federal health agencies issued guidelines identifying the preventive care services that must be covered under health care reform.  When new services are added to those guidelines, a plan will have one year to cover the services at 100 percent.  

Most recently, certain services applicable to women’s health issues have been identified as “preventive” and required to be covered by group health plans.  These women’s health service requirements did not cause a stir when they were initially released in August 2011, but they have recently been the center of controversy.

The Department of Health and Human Services commissioned a study to review what preventive services are necessary for women’s health and well-being.  The commission recommended certain services be covered, including, among others, well-women visits, screening for gestational diabetes, HPV testing, and contraceptive methods and counseling.

Original guidance excepted group health plans sponsored by certain religious employers from the requirement to cover contraceptive services.  A religious employer was defined as one that (1) has the inculcation of religious values as its purpose; (2) primarily employs persons who share its religious tenets; (3) primarily serves persons who share its religious tenets; and (4) is a non-profit organization under Internal Revenue Code.  The Obama administration caused an outrage when it recently announced that church-related employers, such as charities and hospitals, would not be considered a religious employer for purposes of the exemption.  Backpedaling on this pronouncement, the Administration has now stated that if a woman’s employer is a charity, hospital or other religious organization that has a religious objection to providing contraceptive services as part of its health plan, the insurance company, and not the employer itself, will be required to reach out to the employee and offer contraceptive care free of charge.  Controversy remains over how self-funded plans will address the mandate.

For more information, please contact PR@BASusa.com.

1.  Question:  I am planning a romantic evening out with my wife for dinner February 14. The caregiver who watches our children during the day will be staying late to watch the kids. May I submit the babysitter’s charge for the evening to my Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account for reimbursement?

Answer:  No.  The charge for the evening babysitting must be separated from the charge for watching your children during the day.  A child care expense may be reimbursed from a Dependent Care FSA only if the expense is incurred so that you can work or look for work.

2.  Question:  Are condoms an eligible medical expense for reimbursement from my Health Care Flexible Spending Account?

Answer:  If your plan allows, the cost of condoms may be eligible for reimbursement from a Health Care FSA.

3.  Question:  My fiancé and I are getting married February 14. Can I add him to my health insurance coverage?

Answer:  Obtaining a new dependent through marriage is considered a special enrollment event under HIPAA.  Assuming your plan is not excepted from the HIPAA portability requirements, your plan must provide you the opportunity to enroll your new spouse for coverage.  You must request special enrollment within 30 days of the marriage (your plan may provide a longer opportunity).  Enrollment of your spouse will be effective not later than the first day of the first calendar month beginning after the date the plan receives your completed enrollment request.

4.  Question:  My partner and I just satisfied my employer’s requirements for domestic partner coverage and my partner may now be covered under my health plan. Will the amount I pay for my partner’s coverage be tax-free?

Answer:  Probably not, unless the domestic partner is your common law spouse or tax-Code dependent.  If your employer’s cafeteria plan allows you to make contributions for your domestic partner’s coverage on a pre-tax basis, the value of the coverage would be included in your income for federal tax purposes.  The federal tax rules do not permit the value of domestic partner health coverage to be provided on a tax-favored basis.  Depending on where you live, there may be a different treatment for state tax purposes.

5.  Question:  My husband bought two dozen beautiful long-stemmed red roses. They were so expensive that there was not enough money in our bank account to cover our monthly COBRA premium, so I did not mail my premium check.  How long do I have to make payment for my COBRA coverage?

Answer:  The first premium payment for COBRA continuation coverage must be postmarked within 45 days of your COBRA continuation coverage election.  Each subsequent payment must be received within 30 days of the payment due date.  A payment is considered paid when it is mailed.  Consult your COBRA notice because your plan may permit a longer grace period for payment.