Health and Welfare Team

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, signed into law in December 2017, created a new business credit for employers that offer paid family and medical leave and which are subject to the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA).

On March 5, 2018, the IRS published Internal Revenue Bulletin (IRB) 2018-10. Effective for calendar year 2018, the family contribution limit for HSAs has been lowered to $6,850 from the previously set amount of $6,900.

The three week extension of the federal budget resolving the shutdown from January 19th through 22nd also contained a delay of the Cadillac Tax from 2020 to 2022.

Under the recently passed Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, employer-provided transportation benefits are somewhat pared back beginning in 2018.

The IRS announced in Notice 2018-06 that employers will have more time to provide their employees with the 2017 required 1095-B or 1095-C forms. The new deadline moves from January 31, 2018 to March 2, 2018. However...

With IRS Notice 2017-64, we now have the applicable retirement and health and welfare benefit limits for 2018. Many (but not all) have increased from 2017. Earlier this year, the IRS announced the 2018 Health Savings Account (HSA) limits and plan designs.

The Internal Revenue Service has released Rev Proc 2017-36 to implement index adjustments in 2018 for certain Affordable Care Act (ACA) contribution percentages used for purposes of determining affordability under the employer shared responsibility mandate.

In a new IRS Notice, the period to provide the required notice to all participants of a new Qualified Small Employer Health Reimbursement Arrangement (QSEHRA) is extended until no sooner than 90 days after the issuance of such guidance.

For the past few years, health plan sponsors have been required to complete an annual online disclosure form with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), reflecting whether the prescription drug coverage offered under the sponsor's plan(s) is "creditable."

In his January 13, 2017 Op-Ed piece, David Brooks argues that health care markets can, but don't often work when consumers "purchase" health care. He's not talking about health care coverage, but the actual receipt of health-related services.