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EMPLOYER HEALTH PLANS & COVID-19
Up-to-date information for brokers and employers
As the Coronavirus situation continues to unfold, we're committed to helping you understand how the latest local, state, and federal regulations impact how employers run their business.
In addition to existing compliance obligations, these changes may require employer health plans to provide services related to COVID-19 free of charge, or some other unique requirement. While we can't predict the future, and this page isn't all-inclusive of every change in process, we want you to know: we're here to help.
Sarah Borders
- Jan 17, 2022
- 2 min
OTC Covid Test Coverage: What are the exceptions?
On Jan 10, 2022, the DOL issued FAQ guidance requiring ALL health plans and issuers (fully-insured or self-insured) to reimburse or...
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Sarah Borders
- Nov 5, 2021
- 0 min
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Sarah Borders
- Oct 18, 2021
- 0 min
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Sarah Borders
- Sep 16, 2021
- 0 min
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Sarah Borders
- Sep 8, 2021
- 0 min
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Sarah Borders
- Jul 30, 2021
- 0 min
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Sarah Borders
- Jul 22, 2021
- 1 min
How do employers get their ARPA tax credit?
You busted your hump figuring out how to deal with ARPA - don’t forget the most important part. In today’s video, I provide a detailed...
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Sarah Borders
- Jun 3, 2021
- 1 min
Can an employer pay an employee to get the vaccine?
How can employers make sure their workforce is vaccinated? It's been a hot topic for months now. With the EEOC's recent guidance on...
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Sarah Borders
- May 25, 2021
- 1 min
Finally! IRS issues critical clarifications on many outstanding ARPA questions
Just last week, IRS issued notice 2021-31, which provided many key clarifications on the ARPA subsidies. There's far too many to cover on...
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Sarah Borders
- May 20, 2021
- 1 min
IRS issues new key clarifications on ARPA FAQs (part 2)
In today's video, I continue coverage of a key notice recently issued by the IRS: IRS notice 2021-31, which covers many FAQs that were...
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Sarah Borders
- Apr 29, 2021
- 1 min
ARPA tax credits available for voluntary paid leave
On April 29, 2021, the IRS issued guidance that gives clarifying information regarding employer tax credits available for voluntary paid...
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Sarah Borders
- Apr 22, 2021
- 1 min
ARPA subsidies and termination "for cause"
It's well understood that the ARPA subsidy applies to people eligible for COBRA who were involuntarily terminated or had a reduction in...
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Sarah Borders
- Apr 2, 2021
- 1 min
Tax-Free PPE?
The IRS recently issued Announcement 2021-7 called which allows amounts paid for personal protective equipment (PPE) such as masks, hand...
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Sarah Borders
- Mar 30, 2021
- 1 min
DOL releases ARPA COBRA subsidy model notices & FAQs
ARPA generated just as many questions as it did provide answers - and that's being generous. Luckily, the DOL recently released a set...
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Sarah Borders
- Mar 25, 2021
- 1 min
Does ARPA apply for state continuation?
Although state continuation isn’t technically COBRA, ARPA clearly talks about several non-COBRA situations where the subsidy applies. In...
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Sarah Borders
- Mar 18, 2021
- 1 min
ARPA & Dependent Care FSA impacts
In this follow-up to our recent video on the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, we cover another very important piece of the legislation...
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Sarah Borders
- Mar 18, 2021
- 2 min
ARPA: A 100% COBRA subsidy?!?
On March 11, 2021, the President signed into law the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) H.R.1319. Under the latest stimulus legislation,...
34 views0 comments
Sarah Borders
- Feb 27, 2021
- 1 min
Long-Awaited COBRA & HIPAA Outbreak Period Guidance Released
On Friday, February 26th, the DOL released Disaster Relief Notice 2021-01, providing some long-awaited guidance on how the COBRA & HIPAA...
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Sarah Borders
- Dec 28, 2020
- 1 min
FSA changes are coming!
In the latest COVID stimulus bill, signed into law by President Trump on December 27th, 2020, there are a several sections that focus on...
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Sarah Borders
- Dec 20, 2020
- 1 min
COBRA Subsidy Termination = New Special Enrollment Rights?
Recently, the HHS came out with its 2022 benefit and proposed payment regulations. One of the most interesting items in the report is a...
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Sarah Borders
- Aug 31, 2020
- 1 min
ACA Penalties Increased for 2021
Recently the IRS updated its ACA webpage and FAQs reflecting the indexed changes to the 2021 ACA penalties that could apply to applicable...
19 views0 comments
Sarah Borders
- May 31, 2020
- 3 min
FAQs on mid-year election changes
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the IRS recently issued guidance relaxing election changes for health plans offered under a Section...
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Sarah Borders
- Apr 14, 2020
- 1 min
Important clarifications from the HHS, DOL on communicating health plan changes to employees
On 4/11/20, the HHS, DOL, and Treasury provided some greatly needed clarifications on the recent laws passed by Congress related to the...
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Sarah Borders
- Apr 7, 2020
- 1 min
HDHPs and COVID-19 treatments/screenings
As a reminder, in order for an individual to establish and contribute to an HSA, they must be enrolled in a qualified HDHP and cannot...
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Sarah Borders
- Apr 7, 2020
- 2 min
Coverage for Small-Group Health Plans for Coronavirus
On March12th, CMS released FAQs related to federal rules governing health insurance coverage for coronavirus. Diagnosis and treatments of...
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Sarah Borders
- Apr 7, 2020
- 1 min
COVID-19 Coverage for Self-Insured and Fully-Insured Plans in Specific States
The federal emergency legislation, if passed by the Senate and signed by President Trump, would require COVID-19 testing benefits to be...
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Sarah Borders
- Mar 15, 2020
- 1 min
Emergency bill for Coronavirus coverage being sent to Senate
You can count on BCS to continue to provide you the latest updates so you can keep up with the fast-moving changes to employer sponsored...
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Return to this page regularly - we'll keep it updated as we learn more
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