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HRAs or HSAs, How Does an Employer Decide?

As health care costs soar, employers are forced to find ways to both (1) cut costs and/or (2) shift more of the costs to participants.  They are accomplishing this by increasing deductibles, co-pays and co-insurance amounts and reducing benefits.  The theory is if participants are more responsible for paying health expenses they will be more responsible with their own dollars.

Two vehicles that employers are considering in cutting costs and/or shifting more of the cost to employees are Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRAs) and Health Savings Accounts (HSAs).  Because the interplay between these two vehicles in any year is very limited, an employer must decide which one is best for its situation.  To assist an employer in deciding between HRAs and HSAs, the following discussion… Download the whole document here

IRS Notice 2008-59

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released IRS Notice 2008-59 on June 25, 2008. The notice provide guidance on HSAs in a number of areas.  These include:

• Who is considered an eligible individual?
• What plans qualify as high deductible health plans?
• What are the limits for contributions?
• What types of expenses can be considered qualified medical expenses?
• What is a prohibited transaction?
• When is an HSA deemed established?
• How are HSA administration and maintenance fees treated?

The notice is provided in forty-two question and answer format. The following will review those aspects of HSA not covered in other guidance.

Continued – Click Here to Download the whole PDF – hsa-notice-2008-59-explanation

IRS Releases Proposed Regulations under Code Sections 4980B, 4980D, 4980E and 4980G

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released proposed regulations under Internal Revenue Code (“Code”) Sections 4980B, 4980D, 4980E and 4980G on July 16, 2008. The proposed regulations include:

• The form and due dates for reporting and paying excise taxes under Code Section 4980B (failure to comply with the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) requirements), Code Section 4980D (failure to comply with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) requirements), Code Section 4980E (failure to make comparable Archer Medical Savings Account (MSA) contributions) and Code Section 4980G (failure to make comparable HSA contributions).
• Calculating comparable HSA contributions.
• Special rules for making employer contributions to HSAs for non-highly compensated employees (NHCEs).
• Comparability Rules and Qualified HSA Distributions.

Rules for Reporting and Paying Excise Taxes
Code Section 4980B – Failure to Comply With the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) Requirements
Excise Tax: Employers that violate COBRA may be subject to both civil sanctions and tax penalties. Under COBRA’s civil sanction procedures, either the Department of Labor or plan beneficiaries themselves can sue a plan that fails to provide…. Download the whole document here – hsa-proposed-regulations.pdf

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