PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - New Round of COVID-19 Relief Expands Assistance for Employers
Nowhere to spend child care FSA funds
COVID-19 Impact for Health & Welfare Plans (Troutman Sanders and Pepper Hamilton COVID-19 Issues for Employers Podcast Series)
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - COVID-19 Edition; New Opportunities for Health Flexible Spending Arrangements and Cafeteria Plans
The July Monthly Minute highlights several benefits provisions under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and offers reminders about upcoming PCORI and Form 5500 deadlines. Many Benefits, One Big Beautiful Bill On July 4, 2025,...more
As we come to the end of the year, it is a good time for employers with January 1st health plan renewals to review their plan documents and get ready for open enrollment. The following is a checklist that lists some of the...more
Most employers allow employees covered by the employer-sponsored group health and welfare plans to pay their share of the cost through pre-tax payroll deductions. In order to do this the employer must maintain a written...more
As we approach our third new year since the first reported cases of COVID-19, related relief may seem like old news. Although much of the government-sponsored pandemic relief has expired, there are aspects that remain germane...more
In this season of goodwill, gratitude, and giving, it's worth considering that both friends and strangers can have medical needs that we can ease with little pain or inconvenience to ourselves. Here's a sampling of five ways...more
The Federal Vaccine Mandate - Preparing for OSHA's COVID-19 Requirements - The Occupational Safety and Health Administration ("OSHA") has released an Emergency Temporary Standard ("ETS") regarding COVID-19-related compliance...more
With the end of the year fast approaching, employers should be aware of several important deadlines and considerations related to retirement and health and welfare plans. With the onslaught of recent COVID-19-related...more
Summary - Throughout 2020 and 2021, employers sponsoring health and welfare plans have needed to respond to a myriad of legislative and regulatory changes arising from the COVID-19 pandemic and new health legislation. To...more
The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (the ARP, enacted on March 11, 2021) provides a temporary 100% COBRA premium subsidy to any assistance eligible individual (AEI) who loses employer-sponsored group health coverage due to a...more
Following up on guidance issued in February the IRS has issued a new notice on the temporary carryover rules for dependent care flexible spending accounts. The 2021 Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) provides that, for...more
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has published Notice 2021-26 to provide answers regarding the taxability of benefits received in 2021 and 2022 under a dependent care assistance program (DCAP) that permits carryovers or...more
Under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA), which was signed into law by President Biden on March 11, 2021, certain individuals who lost group health plan coverage due to an involuntary termination of employment or...more
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act of 2020 (CARES Act), the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (CAA) and now the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) each include many provisions that affect...more
The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) provides temporary COBRA continuation coverage premium assistance for certain eligible qualified beneficiaries. On April 7, 2021, the Department of Labor issued a FAQ and model...more
On March 26, 2021, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) published Announcement 2021-7, which notifies taxpayers that certain amounts paid for personal protective equipment (such as masks, hand sanitizer, and sanitizing wipes)...more
ARPA provides that, for the period from April 1, 2021 until September 30, 2021, if an individual’s Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (“COBRA”) qualifying event is an involuntary termination of employment or a...more
The IRS recently announced that the costs of masks, hand sanitizers and other "personal protective equipment" (PPE) used for the primary purpose of preventing the spread of coronavirus are qualifying medical expenses under...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Avid readers of Beneficially Yours may recall that just over a year ago we asked the pressing question of whether surgical mask purchases could be covered under a health care FSA, among other “novel”...more
The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), signed into law on March 11, 2021, provides 100% subsidized premiums (including the COBRA administrative fee) for health care continuation coverage under COBRA for eligible individuals and...more
On March 11, 2021, President Joe Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA). The ARPA is the latest installment of COVID-19–related stimulus packages passed by Congress in the last 12 months. Similar to the...more
The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (the ARPA), signed into law by President Biden on March 11, 2021, includes provisions affecting employee benefit plan sponsors. The ARPA provides relief to certain COBRA qualified...more
The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 is an enormous and intricate piece of legislation that has direct consequence for employers. Signed into law by President Joe Biden on March 11, 2021, ARPA mandates several important...more
On March 10, 2021, the House of Representatives passed the version of the American Rescue Plan Act (H.R. 1319, the “Act”) previously passed by the Senate on March 6. President Biden is expected to sign the legislation on...more
Almost one year after the enactment of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”), and with the second extension of pandemic unemployment assistance about to expire for millions of workers on March...more
The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (CAA) contained temporary relief measures aimed at addressing unused contributions to health flexible spending accounts (FSA) and dependent care assistance programs (DCAP). On...more