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IRS Releases 2023 HSA Contribution Limits and HDHP Deductible and Out-of-Pocket Limits

Posted on May 2, 2022May 2, 2022 by Stacy Barrow

In Rev. Proc. 2022-24, the IRS released the inflation-adjusted amounts for 2023 relevant to Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) and high deductible health plans (HDHPs). The table below summarizes those adjustments and other applicable limits.

	2023	2022	Change
Annual HSA Contribution Limit (employer and employee)	Self-only: $3,850 Family: $7,750	Self-only: $3,650 Family: $7,300	Self-only: +$200 Family: +$450
HSA catch-up contributions (age 55 or older)	$1,000	$1,000	No change
Minimum Annual HDHP Deductible	Self-only: $1,500 Family: $3,000	Self-only: $1,400 Family: $2,800	Self-only: +$100 Family: $200
Maximum Out-of-Pocket for HDHP (deductibles, co-payment & other amounts except premiums)	Self-only: $7,500 Family: $15,000	Self-only: $7,050 Family: $14,100	Self-only: +$450 Family: +$900

Out-of-Pocket Limits Applicable to Non-Grandfathered Plans

The ACA’s out-of-pocket limits for in-network essential health benefits have also been announced and have increased for 2023.

	2023	2022	Change
ACA Maximum Out-of-Pocket	Self-only: $9,100 Family: $18,200	Self-only: $8,700 Family: $17,400	Self-only: +$400 Family: +$800

Note that all non-grandfathered group health plans must contain an embedded individual out-of-pocket limit within family coverage if the family out-of-pocket limit is above $9,100 (2023 plan years) or $8,700 (2022 plan years). Exceptions to the ACA’s out-of-pocket limit rule are available for certain small group plans eligible for transition relief (referred to as “Grandmothered” plans). While historically CMS has renewed the transition relief for Grandmothered plans each year, it announced in March that the transition relief will remain in effect until it announces that all such coverage must come into compliance with the specified requirements.

Next Steps for Employers

As employers prepare for the 2023 plan year, they should keep in mind the following rules and ensure that any plan materials and participant communications reflect the new limits:

HSA-qualified family HDHPs cannot have an embedded individual deductible that is lower than the minimum family deductible of $3,000.
The out-of-pocket maximum for family coverage for an HSA-qualified HDHP cannot be higher than $15,000.
All non-grandfathered plans (whether HDHP or non-HDHP) must cap out-of-pocket spending at $9,100 for any covered person. A family plan with an out-of-pocket maximum in excess of $9,100 can satisfy this rule by embedding an individual out-of-pocket maximum in the plan that is no higher than $9,100. This means that for the 2023 plan year, an HDHP subject to the ACA out-of-pocket limit rules may have a $7,500 (self-only)/$15,000 (family) out-of-pocket limit (and be HSA-compliant) so long as there is an embedded individual out-of-pocket limit in the family tier no greater than $9,100 (so that it is also ACA-compliant).

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About the Authors. This alert was prepared by Marathas Barrow Weatherhead Lent LLP, a national law firm with recognized experts on the Affordable Care Act. Contact Stacy Barrow or Nicole Quinn-Gato at sbarrow@marbarlaw.com or nquinngato@marbarlaw.com.

This information is a service to our clients and friends. It is designed only to give general information on the developments actually covered. It is not intended to be a comprehensive summary of recent developments in the law, treat exhaustively the subjects covered, provide legal advice, or render a legal opinion.

Benefit Advisors Network and its members are not attorneys and are not responsible for any legal advice. To fully understand how this or any legal or compliance information affects your unique situation, you should check with a qualified attorney.

Benefit Commerce Group & Its Employees Relieve Over $2 Million of Medical Debt

Posted on April 12, 2022April 12, 2022 by Caroline Williams

Contact:
Nancy Zalud
480-565-7924
nancy@benefitcommerce.com

Scottsdale, AZ (April 11, 2022) – Benefit Commerce Group (BCG), an Alera Group Company, announced contributions that alleviated more than $2 million of medical debt, with $1.8 million of abolished debt in Maricopa County. Another $280,000 in medical debt relief was achieved in Colorado, through BCG’s affiliate, Fall River Employee Benefits.

One in three Americans struggles with the weight of medical debt, and BCG and its employees are proud to support medical debt relief to many families in Arizona. In Maricopa County, 1,852 families were recipients of BCG’s donation.

BCG worked directly with the debt-forgiveness nonprofit, RIP Medical Debt, to identify individuals and families with outstanding healthcare-related bills. Founded by two former debt collectors, RIP is able to purchase medical debts for those most in need in bundled portfolios for a fraction of their face value. One dollar donated relieves $100 of medical debt on average. Our contributions are targeted to individuals and families living below 200% of the poverty level, with letters about the debt relief going out to them throughout the year.

“As an employee benefits consulting firm, this is a topic very near and dear to our hearts. We see every day how important healthcare is for all of our communities,” said Scott Wood, Principal and Managing Partner of BCG. “We are proud to be able to help families who have been struggling with medical debt in our area. In addition, this contribution perfectly showcases one of our core values of collaboration. Our teams always come together to advance thinking for our clients, strategize new solutions for success, but most importantly to help those in need.”

“This gift in honor of our clients comes straight from the hearts of our employees,” said Chris Hogan, Executive Vice President and Principal of BCG. “Our teams are passionate about giving back directly to the communities in which they live, work, and play, especially to families right in our backyard who are in crisis. Retiring medical debt allows us to truly give back and alleviate a worry for many families. We have been overwhelmed by the positive response from our clients, confirming that this was very meaningful to them, too.”

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About Benefit Commerce Group
Benefit Commerce Group (BCG), an Alera Group Company, is a progressive and results-driven employee benefits and commercial property & casualty consulting and brokerage firm. We are committed to creating strategies and solutions that make life easier and better for companies and their HR teams by providing the best cost-effective benefits value for employers, employees, and families and providing risk management and insurance services to businesses. We do this through collaboration—with our clients, our own experienced team, and with other Alera Group firms across the nation. Alera Group is the nation’s 17th largest broker, providing powerful solutions in employee benefits, property & casualty, and wealth management for clients across the country. BCG is a four-time honoree on the Inc. 5000 listing of the fastest-growing private companies in America. For more information on BCG, call us at 480-515-5010 or visit our website: benefitcommerce.com.

About RIP Medical Debt
Since being founded in 2014 by two former debt collectors, RIP Medical Debt has acquired, and abolished, more than $6 billion of oppressive medical debt, helping over 3.5 million individuals get out from under the burden of crushing medical debt. To learn more, visit www.ripmedicaldebt.org.

Keeping your business safe from identity theft

Posted on April 8, 2022April 8, 2022 by Bobbi Kloss, BAN Director of Human Capital Management

Published by BenefitsPro

Failure to guard against identity theft could ultimately destroy your business and reputation.

We never know where the threats are going to come from. They are presented sometimes as emails, phone calls, oor requests that appear to be legitimate but the sender or caller is very likely sitting in a location somewhere across the globe trying to fraudulently access a company’s business records.

From 2019 to 2020, the U.S. experienced a 311% increase in ransomware attacks, with victims paying out a total of $350 million. Experts believe one important contributing factor for this kind of attack is the number of employees working from home. The COVID-19 pandemic forced the country to work remotely, creating the perfect storm for hackers.

“When you are working from home, you are not behind the castle walls anymore,” said John Hammond, a cybersecurity researcher at the security firm Huntress. “You are working with your own devices, away from the safe perimeter of corporate networks.”

According to the Consumer Sentinel Network, reports of identity theft more than doubled from 650,000 in 2019 to nearly 1.4 million in 2020.

Growing a business is challenging enough today. Protecting your business, your customers and your employees from data breaches, attackers impersonating your business to disguise and deceive your customers is a growing concern. Failure to do so could ultimately destroy your business and reputation, as well as damage your customers and employees.

Identity theft can harm a business in two distinct ways. The first is business identity theft, which is also called corporate or commercial theft. This method involves the impersonation of the business itself. The second is consumer identity fraud (the data breaches that we hear about more frequently in the news) in which there is an attempt to gain personal information about consumers in order to impersonate an individual.

Business identity theft

Businesses are becoming increasingly targeted by hackers because of their larger bank accounts, the ease with which they can open a credit account with higher credit limits, and their greater purchasing power. Businesses using invoicing systems that allow for delay of payment create a window of opportunity for cybercriminals to receive goods, services, and/or money before becoming detected. Many additional windows of opportunities exist for illegally accessing information as many businesses do not have sophisticated IT departments installing security systems, protocols and training employees on how to be vigilant to the thief’s tactics.

With much information (employer identification numbers EIN’s, business registration information including owners’ names and in some cases signatures which could ultimately be forged, sales tax numbers, etc.) legally available through public information access or available for a fee, businesses have another layer of vulnerability.

According to Nav, an organization that works with small and mid-size businesses to address the complexities of business finances, it suggests the following ways that a business can work to protect itself:

Go digital: Receive bank statements, credit cards bills and other financial information digitally instead of through the mail

Shred documents, and use a quality shredder to ensure documents cannot be restored

Keep records secure: If storing paper documents, ensure that they are in a locked filing cabinet, secure in safe or vault and limit access

Monitor your business credit report: Just as a consumer would, look for signs of unusual activity which may indicate fraud

Follow best practices for digital security:

Strong firewalls
VPN for outside access
Secure offsite data storage
Scheduled virus and malware scans
Automatic Windows and other software updates
Secured wireless networks
Limited software installation abilities for employees
Train employees in digital security best practices
Protect physical access to company computers
Use strong passwords
Limit file sharing to those employees with need to access

Consumer identity fraud

In contrast to business identity theft, consumer identity fraud is about the data security breach, theft by an employee and consumer theft through the loss of personal information. Cybercriminals can access or hack into a company’s system and take away sensitive information. According to TrendMicro, a breach is accomplished in the following manner:

Research: The cybercriminal looks for weaknesses in the company’s security (people, systems, or network).

Attack: The cybercriminal makes initial contact using either a network or social attack.

Network/social attack: A network attack occurs when a cybercriminal uses infrastructure, system, and application weaknesses to infiltrate an organization’s network. Social attacks involve tricking or baiting employees into giving access to the company’s network. An employee can be duped into giving his/her login credentials or may be fooled into opening a malicious attachment.

Exfiltration: Once the cybercriminal gets into one computer, he/she can then attack the network and tunnel his/her way to confidential company data. Once the hacker extracts the data, the attack is considered successful.

What to do if systems are breached

Businesses need to know what their state breach notification laws require if their system has been breached. Failure to comply may result in fines being assessed.

The Federal Trade Commission publishes guidelines to follow if your data is breached. In addition, if your business is covered under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, there are specific measures that will need to be followed if Protected Health Information (PHI) is breached. Businesses may even be subject to fines for weakly or unprotected protect data. The Department of Health and Human Services outlines these instructions.

While no one can completely eliminate identity theft, businesses and organizations that regularly monitor their accounts, bills, and credit reports can lower their risk. Yes, it can be overwhelming to consider the consequences of fighting something so ambiguous and complex, but if a business thinks it’s the victim of identity fraud, work with the FTC to restore accounts and get on the road to recovery.

Bobbi Kloss is director of human capital management services for Benefit Advisors Network, an exclusive, national network of independent employee benefit brokerage and consulting companies.

Congress Passes Another Temporary Telehealth Safe Harbor

Posted on March 18, 2022March 18, 2022 by Stacy Barrow

On March 15, 2022, the President signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022 (H.R. 2471) into law (“CAA 2022”). The CAA 2022 is largely a spending bill but also includes, among other things, a much-anticipated new telemedicine safe harbor similar to that which was created under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act). The safe harbor allows high deductible health plans (HDHPs) to cover medical and behavioral health treatment before participants meet their deductibles (i.e., without cost-sharing). The safe harbor applies from April 1, 2022, through December 31, 2022, regardless of the plan year.

Background on Telehealth Safe Harbor under the CARES Act

On March 27, 2020, the CARES Act became law. While the CARES Act was largely an economic package intended to stabilize individuals and employers during COVID-19-related shutdowns, it also included several measures directly related to employee benefits. One specific provision was the safe harbor under which HDHPs could cover telehealth and other remote care without cost-sharing. As a result, no-cost telehealth could be provided to plan participants for any reason–not just COVID-19 related issues–without disrupting HSA eligibility.

The CARES Act safe harbor was a temporary measure, applying only to plan years beginning on or before December 31, 2021, which means, for calendar year plans, the safe harbor expired on December 31, 2021. Without the safe harbor, telehealth programs that provide “significant benefits” in the nature of medical care or treatment generally disrupt HSA eligibility. Whether benefits are “significant” is a facts and circumstances determination. That said, in cases where a telehealth program provides robust benefits, such as medical advice and diagnosis for a broad range of non-emergency, common medical illnesses, general referrals to other provider types (including the emergency room), and certain prescription drugs for common medical illnesses, it may be difficult to support an argument that it does not provide “significant” benefits, in the absence of specific IRS guidance.

New Telemedicine Safe Harbor

The safe harbor under the CARES Act was well-received, and as the December 31, 2021, deadline approached, there was a strong effort among stakeholders to encourage lawmakers to either extend the safe harbor or make it a permanent measure.

Accordingly, on March 10, 2022, Congress passed the CAA, 2022, which was subsequently signed into law on March 15, 2022. The new safe harbor under the CAA, 2022 is identical to the CARES Act safe harbor, except that it applies for the period of April 1, 2022, through December 31, 2022, only (i.e., it is tied to the calendar year, not a plan year).

Many carriers and other administrators assumed that, if passed, the measure would have a retroactive effect (back to January 1, 2022); however, for calendar year plans or plans with plan years ending prior to March 2022, there is a gap from January 1, 2022, through March 31, 2022, in which HDHPs may not be treated as an HDHP if covering certain medical or behavioral health telemedicine services without cost-sharing, which impacts HSA eligibility for individuals.

Conclusion

Depending on the applicable plan year, the following applies for employers:

For 2022 plan years that began before April 1, 2022 (e.g., calendar year plans), there is a gap period for which HDHPs were not authorized to maintain their status as an HDHP if covering telehealth services without a participant first meeting the applicable deductible (assuming the telehealth services are “significant benefits” for HSA purposes). Therefore, from January 1, 2022, through March 31, 2022, if a HDHP covered participant’s virtual medical or behavioral health care without cost sharing, the plan may not be treated as a qualified high deductible health plan. Beginning April 1, 2022; however, this changes, and telemedicine service can be covered without cost-sharing through the end of the calendar year, unless the safe harbor is further extended. An extension would require another change in law by Congress.
For non-calendar year plans which began on or after April 1, 2021, the safe harbor under the CARES Act will be extended by the CAA, 2022 beyond the end of the plan’s applicable plan year and apply through the end of the calendar year (December 31, 2022).

Employers are encouraged to discuss this optional relief with their insurance broker, medical plan carrier, or third-party administrator to ensure proper administration.

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This is a service to our clients and friends. It is designed only to give general information on the developments actually covered. It is not intended to be a comprehensive summary of recent developments in the law, treat exhaustively the subjects covered, provide legal advice, or render a legal opinion.

The Great Resignation

Posted on March 9, 2022March 9, 2022 by Bobbi Kloss, BAN Director of Human Capital Management

In the April 2020 newsletter edition, I spoke about attracting qualified…or just candidates, these
days. Groan if you are still having problems with finding qualified candidates these days.

According to the latest Bureau of Labor and Statistics Jolt Report as of December 2021, there are 10.9
million positions that need to be filled within the U.S. while the total number of separations went down to 5.9 the percentage rate was still at 4.0% and the number of quits was still at 2.9%.

Why Are So Many Job Openings Not Being Filled?
When we look at the reality of having millions of available workers and millions of jobs available there
is clearly still a disconnect.

What’s is the disconnect? Can we realistically consider:
• Whether to vaccinate or not;
• Low wage jobs;
• Customer service jobs that interact with, at times, an angry public who “attack;”
• Poor benefits, if any;
• Lack of positive culture; and
• Millennials and Gen Z’s continue to be prejudged as entitled.

With so many reasons to throw blame around, a new one has been added into the mix – The Cancel
Culture Movement. What is the cancel culture movement and how does that affect the Great Resignation
Era?

The Cancel Culture Movement
Merriam Webster’s dictionary defines cancel culture as “the practice or tendency of engaging in mass
canceling as a way of expressing disapproval and exerting social pressure.”

Generations are shifting and as we may be reminded from our own generational rebelliousness
against those who came before us, this is normal behavior. If you are a Baby Boomer, you were a trendsetter railing against the traditionalist. The same was and is true with Gen X and Millennials, as well
as the newest generation entering the workforce, Gen Z.

Making up roughly 24% of the workforce in 2020 and being a generation that is larger than the
millennials, Gen Z’s are willing to put in the effort at work, yet they question incongruities in employer
messaging i.e questioning the status quo. Why is a company investing in new (fill in the blank) but not willing to pay competitively or give out a raise? Why is one person chosen over another to do “easier” or “better” work? If the answer is not provided or is not a reasonable response, Gen Z’s are leaving for another company with a culture that includes effective communication, and most importantly, inclusiveness.

The expansion of social media provides the opportunity for boycotts and protesters to far extend the
reach that once existed in the local community. Nowadays a video can be shot within the exact moment a
perceived “wrong” is being committed and posted to be viewed worldwide. It is not unusual for postings
to reach 1 million + people in seconds with just the tap of a button. This tactic has led to culture changes
within companies such as Google, Amazon, Whole Foods, and other large corporations as they try to avoid being in the center of the negative spotlight that often starts with the social media posting of employees. The expectation is that public shaming will either change a practice or the audience will “cancel” that company, product, or person by withdrawing financial support.

Preserving the Brand
This leaves employers facing the greatest challenges in finding candidates, especially in the hourly
work sectors. Brand, mentorship, doing the right thing, and transparency are all key components of a
culture that is drawing Gen Z’s. Human Resources has been sharing this message over the past several
years and employers are just now seeing the effects that their lack of attention to developing a culture that will attract and retain employees is producing.

To reiterate, we can see there are many workforce dynamics—the outside influences that impact the
continuity of business operations—that are in play here. Whether one or many is personally affecting
your workforce, how does an employer keep themselves front and center stage in the midst of the hiring
frenzy? The solutions are largely “tried and true” but necessary now more than ever.

Here are a few strategies to consider:
• Employees are the greatest asset a company has and that should be the focus of strategic initiatives
used to attract and retain a viable workforce.
• Ensure that your company values and mission match the culture.
• Market your company brand as “The Best Place to Work.”
• When the competition is no longer just about the next-door company but now across the country, the
competition is growing.
• Evaluate your total rewards program.
• Is your company paying competitively for the work expected?
• Be creative in work-life balance. COVID-19 taught us we can virtually work from anywhere in the
country or world and be just as productive with accommodations, flexibility, and ingenuity.
• Expand those who can be in the role and consider if accommodations can be more readily available
to get the job done.

Marketing The Community
Once an employer has worked to develop their inclusive and holistic culture, the next step worth
adopting in their recruiting and retention strategy: marketing their community. This is about the
opportunities that exist to live out the lifestyle that embodies the work-life balance they seek.

Not only does this strategic branding opportunity highlight the multitude of benefits of a specific
region or city, but it also means marketing the internal community that brings your employees together.

Once the story is created, the next step is to generate the interest of applicants. How does this
information get shared? Employers should promote it on the company website or job board advertising.
The goal is to be creative. Companies can create videos walking around the internal and external
community.

Be enthusiastic about the opportunity that is offered. Today it is not only about what the candidate
brings to the table, but also about what the employer has to benefit the candidate.

Conclusion
Human Resources is in that position to influence the employer and show how the profitability of the
employer is impacted by marketing the company culture. What an opportunity to promote: a fostered
happier, healthier, and productive workforce.

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Bobbi Kloss is the Director of Human Capital Management Services for Benefit Advisors Network – an exclusive, national network of independent employee benefits brokerage and consulting companies. Bobbi can be contacted at bkloss@benefitadvisorsnetwork.com, or visit www.benefitadvisorsnetwork.com.