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The IRS recently provided notice 2020-44 announcing the new PCORI fees for plan years from October 2019 through October 2020. The new fee is an increase of $0.09, from $2.45 to $2.54. While this amount is important to know, it is essential to understand what PCORI fees are and how they affect your ACA Employer Reporting.

PCORI stands for Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute. The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Trust Fund fee is a tax on issuers of specified health insurance policies and plan sponsors of applicable self-insured health plans. It assists in funding the institute. Imposed by §§ 4375 and 4376 of...

The IRS recently announced the 2021 limits for Health Savings Accounts and High Deductible Health Plans. After reading the IRS publication, we thought it might be easier to understand if we took all the legal mumbo-jumbo out, leaving the most important information: the amounts! HSA amounts reflect the limit on deductions and the HDHP reflects the new deductible limit. Also included in the notice is the annual out-of-pocket maximum amount. Out-of-pocket amounts generally include deductibles, co-payments, and other payments made.

Individual: $3,600

Family: $7,200

Individual: $1,400

Family: $2,800<...

Medcom Benefit Solutions recently announced a significant and valuable expansion of its Consumer Driven Health Plan division with the introduction of a Disaster Relief Program. The program, Medcom Cares, assists employers looking for time-sensitive and creative financial ways for helping their employees dealing with furloughs, reduced hours, and layoffs due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Medcom Cares is based on IRS Section 139: Disaster Relief Payments. Section 139 states that employers are allowed to provide "Qualified Disaster Relief Payments" to employees, tax-free, who are affected by a federally declared disaster. A qualified disaster relief payment means any amount paid...

If all you want for Christmas is an extra $50 in your health FSA, you must have been very good this year. Santa is granting your wish and allowing just that much, as the new FSA contribution was announced last month! However, the gift that keeps on giving may be a little too late for some whose Open Enrollment periods have already ended. If you are one of the lucky ones that are still eligible to make changes to your health benefit elections, take a moment to read below; there are several benefit limitation changes for 2020.