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IRS provides new guidance on debit, credit and stored value cards |
July 28, 2006
Treasury and the IRS today issued final regulations concerning Health Savings Account (HSA) comparability rules. Comparability rules provide that an employer contributing to one employee's HSA must contribute comparable amounts to all employees who have HSAs.
(Read Article...) |
IRS provides new guidance on debit, credit and stored value cards |
July 7, 2006
In Notice 2006-69, the IRS expands (1) the automatic substantiation procedures for the payment of expenses under Health FSAs and HRAs by a debit card, credit card or stored value card and (2) the use of such cards to pay expenses under dependent care assistance programs. The following is a summary of the important provisions:
(more...) |
Treasury and IRS Issue Proposed Regulations Concerning Health Savings
Account Comparability Rules |
September 1, 2005
WASHINGTON, DC -- Today the IRS and Treasury issued proposed regulations with respect to the comparability rules for employer Health Savings Account (HSA) contributions. The proposed regulations generally follow the previously issued guidance on comparability rules. The rules also provide additional clarification with respect to a few issues not previously addressed.
Click here to read the article... |
Aetna Leads Industry With Real Prices |
August 19, 2005
Health Market Survey 08/19/05
Aetna today became the first private health insurance company in history to publish what seems like a no-brainer: the actual prices that are charged for medical care to its subscribers. The price lists include every Cincinnati-area primary-care physician or specialist in Aetna's network, and prices for 600 common services.
(more...) |
Some CDHC Leaders Strongly Endorse New Approach, Medical IRAs Backed By Democrats, Could Complicate Adoption Of HSAs |
June 28, 2005
The Federal Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has released information to its millions of
Federal employees that a 2 ½ month grace period will be added to both their health and dependent
care spending accounts. The approximately 163,000 Federal workers currently enrolled in spending
accounts will now have until March 15, 2006 to incur expenses for the current 2005 plan year.
They will have until May 31, 2006 to submit their claims. Formerly, the run out period for
the calendar year plan was April 30....
(more...)
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FSA Grace Period Extended to Federal Government Employees |
June 28, 2005
The Federal Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has released information to its millions of
Federal employees that a 2 ½ month grace period will be added to both their health and dependent
care spending accounts. The approximately 163,000 Federal workers currently enrolled in spending
accounts will now have until March 15, 2006 to incur expenses for the current 2005 plan year.
They will have until May 31, 2006 to submit their claims. Formerly, the run out period for
the calendar year plan was April 30....
(more...)
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New HSA Guidance: Spouse's Non-HDHP Family Coverage Need Not Bar HSA Participation |
April 13, 2005
Today, IRS and Treasury issued Rev. Rul. 2005-25 clarifying that an individual can be eligible to contribute to a Health Savings Account (HSA), even if his or her spouse has nonqualifying family coverage, provided the spouse's coverage does not cover the individual. This ruling is attached. The press release, which is also attached, notes that the ruling also clarifies how much the eligible spouse in such a situation can contribute to an HSA...
(more...)
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HIPAA Privacy Requirements and Health Care Flexible Spending Accounts, Have Smaller Employers Forgotten Something? |
March 19, 2005
45 CFR Section 164.530(k) provides an exception for many administrative safeguards under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) if an employer sponsors a group insured health plan that does not create, maintain, or receive "protected health information" (PHI). Under this exception, the group health plan is not required to maintain or provide privacy notices or comply with any of HIPAA's administrative safeguard provisions except for the prohibitions against intimidating or retaliatory acts and against requiring a waiver of HIPAA rights...
(more...)
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HSA's Can Leave Workers in Debt |
January 27, 2005
Despite the recent move toward employers offering a high-deductible health plan tied to a health savings account, a new study suggested that the arrangement leaves workers with more debts than other programs.
(more...)
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IRS Releases Tax Benefit Info For Adoption |
December 22, 2004
IRS has just released Publication 968 for 2004, which provides information on tax benefits for adoption.
(more...)
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IRS publishes Notice 2005-1 for Section 409A Guidance. |
December 20, 2004
IRS has published Notice 2005-1, which provides initial guidance on Code section 409A, new rules for non-qualified deferred compensation.
News Story
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IRS publish new W-2 & W-3 Instructions. |
December 5, 2004
IRS has published the new W-2 & W-3 instruction forms, available directly from the IRS website here.
News Story
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Benefit Limits For 2005 |
October 29, 2004
T
he IRS and the Social Security Administration have announced the cost-of-living adjustments for various limits for 2005.
(more...)
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IRS Releases Publication 512 for 2004 |
October 29, 2004
The IRS has released the 2004 version of Publication 502 ("Pub. 502"), which taxpayers may use to determine what medical expenses are deductible on their tax returns.
(more...)
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Treasury and IRS Halt Abusive Employment Tax Involving Employee Parking |
October 10, 2004
Today Treasury and the IRS issued guidance to shut down an abusive employment tax arrangement involving double employer reimbursements for an employee's parking expenses.
(more...)
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Strong Levels of Satisfaction in Recent Survey |
September 10, 2004
Companies Choosing Consumer-Driven Health Plans To Curb Double-Digit Annual Cost Increases.
(more...)
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One-Third Of Employees May Opt Into 'HSAs' |
August 13, 2004
A study released to day by AHIP finds that almost almost one-third (32%) of a random sample of consumers say they are "likely to switch" to a health savings account.
(more...)
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HSA Guidance Pretty Dull |
July 26, 2004
Final Treasury regs released Friday contain no surprises, and represent the end of chapter one in the history of health savings accounts. Now it's up to the market to respond.
(more...)
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Tom Jacobs and Ric Joyner to Lead Workshop at Conference |
July 6, 2004
MADISON, WI., July 6, 2004 -- Tom Jacobs and Ric Joyner are slated to lead the pre-conference workshop before the "Health Savings Account Sales and Administration Strategies for Insurers, Banks, TPAs, and Employers" conference held at Hotel 71 in Chicago, IL. September 20-21, 2004. The workshop is entitled "The Nuts and Bolts of Developing and Offering HSAs".
(Download the Brochure / Get More Information)
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Ric Joyner to Speak at Consumer Driven Health 2004 |
July 2, 2004
MADISON, WI., July 2, 2004 -- Ric Joyner is slated to be a speaker at the 2004 Consumer Driven Health Conference 2004 (CDH 2004) at the Drake Hotel in Chicago, IL July 21-23, 2004. Topics at the conference include "HSA's Break: Ride the Wave, or Drown in It?", "Uptake, Rate & Driection of CDH Marketplace 2004", "Addressing the "Other 20%", and "CDHC Goes Mainstream: Toward True Consumerism."
Ric is slated to speak on "Creating or Offering the HSA Option For Your Employees, Customers or Plan Members" during the "PM Workshop 1" on Wednesday, July 21st, 2004.
(Download the Brochure / Get More Information)
(Register Here) |
Wal-Mart Resumes Acceptance of MasterCard Signature Debit Cards |
June 21, 2004
BENTONVILLE, Ark. and PURCHASE, NY, June 21, 2004 -- Wal-Mart customers will again be able to use MasterCard signature debit cards at all store locations, effective immediately, following a recent agreement between the two companies. (more...)
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Rite-aid.com / drugstore.com Offers FSA Manager |
May 28, 2004
Rite-aid.com / drugstore.com is now offering a free service called FSA Manager that is "designed to help simplify the use of Flexible Spending Account (FSA) programs."(www.drugstore.com)
One service provided by the FSA Manager includes easily identifying products that are most likely to be eligible under a FSA plan. The FSA-eligble products are marked with a prominent checkmark icon with the lettering "FSA" on it. Any product with this icon listed next to it is deemed by Rite-aid.com / drugstore.com to be "most likely to be eligible for reimbursement by FSA programs." They make sure to qualify these listings though: "You should note, however, that the IRS sets the guidelines for FSA programs and individual employers have the final determination of which expenses are covered by their FSA programs"(www.drugstore.com) They even have a special "FSA Store" that contains only those products with the "FSA" checkmark icon.
Another service that the FSA Manager provides is a sort of receipt store house. It allows the customer to enter a date range into their account's FSA Manager, and a pop up window will appear with a receipt containing any FSA-eligible products bought from rite-aid.com / drugstore.com within that time period. This eliminates the possibility of losing receipts (since the customer can print them at any time).
Read more about the FSA Manager here.
Similarly, Familymeds.com has an FSA-eligible indicator on their individual product pages. They have a specific partnership with MBI, allowing customers to use their MBI card on the website.
Read more about Familymeds' service. (click on the MBI card) |
Transforming Health Care for All Americans |
May 27, 2004
* Today, President Bush visited Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee, to discuss with doctors and patients his plan for health information technology to assure better delivery of health care for all Americans.
Read more at www.gop.com |
IRS Releases Revenue Ruling 2004-45 on HSAs |
May 11, 2004
Today the IRS released Revenue Ruling 2004-45 titled "Section 223 - Health Savings Accounts--Interaction with other Health Arrangements", which indicates certain limited forms of coverage that an individual may have under an FSA and/or an HRA while still being an eligible individual who may make contributions to an HSA.
Read the Revenue Ruling Here |
How will the IRS deal with abusive marketing schemes |
March 23, 2004
How will the IRS deal with abusive marketing schemes for qualified plans and welfare benefit trusts? How can you tell a "good" 412(i) plan design from a "bad" one? How do you value life insurance for qualified plan purposes - and how does that impact the use of insurance in these plans? (more...)
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January Newsletter Released |
January 22, 2004
eflexgroup.com's January Newsletter was released today. Topics covered are:
- Staying In Touch with Customers
- New Backup Fax numbers
- Are Health Savings Accounts in your future?
- Who to go to for service?
- Debit Cards
- Claim Delays
- New and Old Faces at eflexgroup
To download the newsletter in pdf format, click here. (It's a large file, please be patient.) |
Why are some people so ill-prepared to make their own decisions about health insurance and health care? |
January 7, 2004
I believe it is actually most people who are ill-prepared (maybe 99%) and, in my opinion, the answer to your question is so obvious, we've all missed it for years. (more...)
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Medicare bill could presage new system |
Though disagreement persists on senior citizens' gains under the Medicare reform act, industry analysts are touting the new law's provisions - especially the addition of Health Savings Accounts - as a boon to plan sponsors. (more...)
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Wall Street Journal Profiles Six Methods of Health Care Rationing To Boost Quality, Savings |
December 22, 2003
With rising health care costs, some rationing of health services is "here to stay," and many hospitals are considering ways to redirect money spent on unnecessary or inefficient care and improve quality of care -- a system the Wall Street Journal calls "rational" rationing. (more...)
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HOW THE TAX EXCLUSION SHAPED TODAY'S PRIVATE HEALTH INSURANCE MARKET |
December 17, 2003
The 60-year-old tax benefit for employer-based health insurance "helped foster rapid growth of employer-sponsored group health insurance in the United States, but it also created unintended consequence for the structure, cost, and availability of both private health insurance and health care that continue today," writes Tom Miller, senior health economist of the Joint Economic Committee in this new paper. (more...)
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The Private Sector: Is the collapse of employment-based health insurance inevitable? |
December 16, 2003
The political spotlight focused on the alarming rise in the number of Americans with no health insurance has obscured a more important problem. The very foundation of the U.S. health care system -- employment-based coverage -- is collapsing. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has noted a "dramatic" decline in the percentage of private-sector workers receiving employer-sponsored health insurance coverage, down from 63% in 1992-3 to 45% in March 2003. (more...)
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Congress' tax-free savings accounts expanding, but rich benefit most |
December 7, 2003
If you save money, the government will reward you with tax breaks.
It's such a popular idea that Congress keeps finding more reasons to offer it. First, lawmakers offered tax benefits for retirement saving. Then came more breaks for people who save money for health costs, dependent care and college. (more...)
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Tax-Free Plans Could Alter Health Coverage |
November 27, 2003
A provision of the Medicare bill Congress passed this week would allow workers to turn a health insurance feature they normally dislike -- a high deductible -- into tax-free savings that could grow to large sums over a lifetime. (more...)
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November Newsletter Released |
November 10, 2003
eflexgroup.com's November Newsletter was released this weekend. Topics covered are:
- Creating an Effective E-Newsletter
- Annual Changes to Government Statistics
- Flex Rollover Still Alive?
- Continuing Education Courses
- Can you be Pro-Active with Your Health Plans?
- New Faces at eflex
To download the newsletter in pdf format, click here. (It's a large file, please be patient.) |
MBI and Familymeds Announce Online Pharmacy Partnership |
November 5, 2003
Breakthrough Partnership will Enable Third Party Administrators to Substantiate Over-The-Counter Purchases Using MBI's Flex Convenience® FSA Debit Cards (more...)
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eflexgroup.com Holds Costume Contest |
October 31, 2003
eflexgroup.com held a costume contest this year for Halloween. Click here for pictures!
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Wal-Mart's Cut-Rate Health Coverage May Be Adopted By Other Employers |
October 8, 2003
Company saves by covering catastrophic care but shifting significant costs to employees
Cut-rate retailer Wal-Mart, the nation’s biggest private employer, offers its employees a cut-rate health coverage policy that "could carry enormous influence" with other employers trying to curtail soaring health care costs, reports the Wall Street Journal. (more...)
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Over the Counter Drug Reimbursements Approved by the IRS |
September 8, 2003
Release of IRS Notice 2003-102
Today’s IRS announcement -- expanding the breadth of flexible spending accounts (FSAs) -- is unprecedented.
Permitting allergy and other OTC drugs to be reimbursed through FSAs revenue ruling will also give further incentives for employer-provided health reimbursement arrangements. (more...)
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Treasury and IRS Announce over-the-counter Drugs to be covered by Health Care Flexible Spending Accounts |
September 3, 2003
JS-695
Today, the Treasury Department and the IRS announced over-the-counter drugs can be paid for with pre-tax dollars through health care flexible spending accounts. Treasury and IRS issued guidance clarifying that reimbursements for nonprescription drugs by an employer health plan are excluded from income. Thus, reimbursements by health flexible spending arrangements (FSAs) and other employer health plans for the cost of over-the-counter drugs available without prescription are not subject to tax if properly substantiated by the employee.(more...)
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Costs of Health Care Administration in the United States and Canada |
August 21, 2003
Background A decade ago, the administrative costs of health care in the United States greatly exceeded those in Canada. We investigated whether the ascendancy of computerization, managed care, and the adoption of more businesslike approaches to health care have decreased administrative costs. (more...)
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IRS Official Says Health FSA Substantiation Is a Must |
August 18, 2003
Employees seeking reimbursement of medical expenses through a health flexible spending account (FSA) must follow acceptable means of substantiating that the expenses are legitimate, a key IRS official said Aug. 15 at a flexible benefits symposium in Chicago. (more...)
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