As we all eagerly await the Supreme Court decision on the health care reform legislation, here’s some other benefits news to keep your appetite whetted.
Flexible Spending Plans
If you weren’t already aware, effective January 1, 2013, medical flexible spending plans are limited to a maximum of $2,500. This change requires all plans to amend their plan documents. However, for plans that don’t start on Jan 1, this was going to get a bit more tricky. Luckily, in IRS Notice 2012-40, they have delaying the implementation of the $2,500 limit for non-calendar year plans and also delayed the need to amend plan documents until the end of 2014.
In even bigger news, there are some serious hints in the notice that the “use-it-or-lose it” rule might be going away….
401k
There is an interpretation of the 401k fee disclosure rule that says that there should be no more than 25 options in a 401k plan. We’ll see if the DOL takes issue with this. Having recently gone through an audit with a plan with more than 25 funds – this was not one of the issues raised by the auditor. (As a side note, I most heartily do NOT recommend having that many funds in a plan)
Based on a recent study of 401k plan fees, there is a lot of talk about whether 401ks have failed the American population or not. Here is one argument stating that 401k plans are a flop.
Research
New study links exercise to higher pay – maybe this will help engage your employees in your wellness offerings
Another study shows that junk food is more appealing to sleep deprived people which means that you might want to consider focusing on sleep as part of your wellness program.
National Health Care Council had some interesting findings when they asked patients about HIPAA. While it was a small sample size, it is consistent with other research that has shown that patients and caregivers tend to view HIPAA as a roadblock to research. Plus no one is particularly happy when they learn that HIPAA doesn’t prevent their doctor from using their data for marketing and fundraising.
