Benefits News Highlights

There has been a lot of news and regulatory updates in the past few months. Below is a summary to help you stay on top of all of the changes.

• On July 8, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued Notice 2020-54, requiring employers to report qualified sick leave and family business leave wages paid to employees under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) on2020 W-2s in Box 14 or on a separate statement. The guidance also provides employees who are also self-employed with information necessary to claim qualified sick leave equivalent or qualified family leave equivalent credits under the FFCRA.

• On July 13, the IRS released draft versions of the 2020 Forms 1094-C and 1095-C. The 1095-C has been modified for 2020 to accommodate offers of coverage for an Individual Coverage Health Reimbursement Arrangement (ICHRA), including eight new Line 14 codes.

• On July 15, the IRS and Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a proposed rule that would amend the 2015 final grandfathering regulations to provide greater flexibility for making changes to fixed-amount cost-sharing requirements without jeopardizing grandfathered status if those changes are necessary to satisfy IRS requirements for high deductible health plans (HDHPs). The Departments concurrently issued a set of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) regarding the proposed rule.

• On July 29, the Treasury Department and IRS issued temporary and proposed regulations addressing the reconciliation of advance payments of refundable employment tax credits provided under the Families Frist Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) and the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), including the process for recapturing excess payments when necessary.

• On September 9, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued Notice 2020-66, clarifying that Medicaid coverage of Covid-19 testing and diagnostic services under the Families First Act is not considered minimum essential coverage (MEC) and therefore will not interfere with premium tax credit eligibility.

• In August, a New York District Court vacated four (4) provisions of the Department of Labor's (DOL's) final rule regarding the Families First Coronavirus Relief Act (FFCRA). In response, the DOL recently issued revisions and clarifications to its rule. Littler provides a summary of the revised rule's key provisions here.