Employers who offer the Benny Card pre-paid debit card in connection with their health flexible spending account plan administered by BAS will find the following questions and answers helpful information for Benny Card holders.
BAS Blog
The Obama administration recently released an Executive Order, "Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity" recognizing cyber threats as one of the most serious national security challenges. For the text of the order, click here.
As described in a previous article, employers will be assessed a new “transitional reinsurance fee” beginning in 2014 and continuing through 2016. Both employer sponsors of self-funded health plans and insurance companies will have to pay the fee, which is intended to help the Exchanges pay for coverage of high-risk individuals in the individual markets.
The Department of Health and Human Services issued final regulations describing the calculation of the transitional reinsurance fee.
A new version of Form I-9 was released by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Employers use Form I-9 to document verification of the identity and employment authorization of each employee hired to work in the U.S. Employers must complete and retain the Form I-9 for each newly hired employee.
Q.- In an employee’s exit interview, we verbally told him about his right to continue coverage under COBRA. He declined COBRA and we had him sign a statement confirming this. Is this statement sufficient for COBRA compliance?
A.- No. The COBRA regulations require that a qualified beneficiary receive written notification of his COBRA rights. The written notice must meet certain requirements and address specified points identified in the regulations. A verbal explanation of COBRA coverage is not sufficient, even if the employee signs a statement declining coverage.
BAS provides a full service location billing and accounts receivable solution that is fully integrated with client data stored MyEnroll.com. Organizations with multiple decentralized locations have a particular need for precise consolidated billing processing. BAS offers cost effective and efficient solutions for billing and collecting health care insurance premiums, property/casualty insurance premiums, general expenses and other assessments.
BAS takes the privacy and security of participants’ information very seriously. Many MyEnroll.com processes use employees’ email addresses for delivering information (e.g., communications, retrieving forgotten User IDs and Passwords, etc.), and BAS takes steps to verify the identity of email addresses.
MyEnroll.com receives email addresses through employer-provided payroll data feeds, large batch file updates, and employer/employee data entry. Regardless of the source of employees’ emails, BAS understands the importance of verifying with the employee that the email address listed in MyEnroll is properly associated with the individual.
According to statistics from the Small Business Administration, small businesses pay on average 18% more for health care than large businesses. The Affordable Care Act is intended to level the playing field for many small businesses. Small businesses, depending on size, can receive tax breaks in some circumstances for providing health coverage.
A court in Germany recently ruled that Internet access is a basic human right and people can sue their Internet provider for damages if Internet connection is lost. This ruling emphasizes the importance of electronic access in today’s society.
The lawsuit stemmed from a man who lost his Internet connection for two months when his Internet service provider was taken over by another company. He was also disconnected from his telephone service during this time period. He sued, and the German court found in his favor.
Q.- We have an employee whose child needs occupational therapy, speech therapy, and developmental intervention. She wants to use her FSA to be reimbursed for the cost of some of these services. Would a letter of medical necessity from each therapist be necessary or would one letter from her pediatrician suffice?
In order for an expense to be reimbursed from a health flexible spending account plan, it must be for medical care. Medical care is defined in the Internal Revenue Code as including amounts paid for the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment or prevention of disease, or for the purpose of affecting any structure or function of the body.
The Department of Health and Human Services issued the Omnibus Final HIPAA rule on January 17, 2013. This rule significantly increased the amount of civil monetary penalties that can be imposed upon a HIPAA security breach.
Beginning January 1, 2014, a large employer with 50 or more full-time employees will be subject to a penalty if its health plan does not offer minimum value and if an employee receives a tax credit to buy health coverage through a state-based Exchange. A plan fails to provide minimum value if the plan's share of the total allowed costs of benefits provided under the plan is less than 60% of such costs.
The IRS has expanded its Voluntary Classification Settlement Program (VCSP) which allows employers to reclassify their workers and get partial relief from employment taxes.
Q.- I am a COBRA continuant and I am enrolling in Medicare. My initial qualifying event was termination of employment. Since my wife and children were covered under my employer's plan at my termination, they also elected to continue coverage under COBRA. When I enroll in Medicare, does anything happen to the COBRA coverage of my wife and children?
On April 1, 2013, a new regulation goes into effect as part of the Dodd-Frank Wall-Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act that requires consumers using a credit/debit card to be provided with the ability to pay at the point of sale using a PIN (Personal Identification Number), in addition to the current signature process. Employers who offer the pre-paid benefits card for employees' FSA transactions will see a slight change in BennyCard administration.
A personalized enrollment form can be generated through MyEnroll.com when a new employee is entered into the MyEnroll system. The New Hire wizard guides the client administrator through the process of entering information for the newly hired employee, including employee name, gender, address, date of hire, and benefit coverage options.
With the rising cost of health coverage, employers have been looking for new and consumer-focused methods of providing health benefits to employees. One of those approaches has been the use of health reimbursement arrangements, or HRAs.
The Department of Labor offers employers free resources to assist with maintaining programs to protect worker health and safety. One of those programs educates employees about alcohol and drug abuse. The Drug-Free Workplace Advisor is intended to assist employers with structuring tailored drug-free workplace policies through an interactive user tool. The tool describes supervisor training, employee education, employee assistance, and drug testing. It also discusses how to address crisis situations.
Q.- An employee is working full time, but he has elected Medicare Part A and is on Social Security. Can the employee participate in our health FSA?
