Hurricane Relief - Extended Benefit Timelines Following the hurricanes and tropical storms that affected much of the southeast, the agencies have extended ERISA, HIPAA and COBRA time frames for affect...
Employer COBRA Subsidies
Date Issued: April 2024
Background
Employers may want to provide an employee with a COBRA subsidy for any number of reasons, whether it is to help meet their own affo...
Amwins Connect – April 2024 Question of the Month
Question
An employer has offered, or wants to offer, to subsidize part or all of a qualified beneficiary’s COBRA premiums. Is that subsidy taxab...
Determining the COBRA Premium for an HRA
March 2024
Setting the correct COBRA premium for a Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA) can be challenging. COBRA defines “applicable premium” as the ...
Events Permitting Election Changes Mid-Plan Year
The Plan may be drafted to permit an individual to change an election mid-year based on a permitted event. Alternatively, a plan sponsor may design ...
Amwins Connect - September Question of the Month
Changing COBRA Rates During Determination Period
Question:
Due to an administrative oversight, an employer failed to adjust its COBRA rates fo...
Compliance Issues for Short Plan Years
When there is a need to discontinue benefit offerings, or a need to adjust the benefit plan year, employers may need to run a short plan year. Short plan year...
Refresher on Those Events Permitting Election Changes Mid-Plan Year
July 2023
The Group Health Plan may be drafted to permit an individual to change an election mid-year based on a permitted eve...
Question: Is an employer subsidy for COBRA premiums taxable to the qualified beneficiary?
February 27, 2023
An employer has offered, or wants to offer, to subsidize part or all of a qualified be...
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released Notice 2021-58, which further clarifies how to apply the extended deadlines for COBRA elections and COBRA premium payments during the Outbreak Period (i.e.,...
In this webinar, our partners at BenefitComply and Guardian HR have a conversation about various issues, questions and considerations related to employer vaccine mandates. They touch briefly on the la...
As a follow-up to our recent Compliance Alert, our COBRA partner, Primepay, provided a closer look at the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA). We reviewed the impact on employers and offered guida...