Compliance Bulletin | April 2023

Welcome to the April 2023 edition of the Baldwin Bulletin, a compliance newsletter by the Baldwin Regulatory Compliance Collaborative (BRCC).

The Baldwin Bulletin serves as a monthly guide to important regulatory developments, legal news, and employee benefits-related industry happenings designed to keep you abreast of the latest developments.

This month’s issue focuses on important compliance deadlines that will apply this year, in addition to providing employers with information regarding certain hot-button compliance issues significantly impacting employers over the next several months.

HIPAA Privacy and Security Breaches Continue to Increase. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)’ Office of Civil Rights (OCR) recently delivered its 2021 Enforcement Reports to Congress detailing national compliance assuredness efforts by the agency, as required by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (“HITECH”).  Read more here.

Upcoming 2023 Compliance Deadlines. For information regarding upcoming compliance deadlines for employer-sponsored group health plans, including our compliance timeline explaining key compliance deadlines for the remainder of the year, read more here.

Gag Clause Attestations Due by December 31. The Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services and the Treasury have jointly issued frequently asked questions (FAQs) on the prohibition of gag clauses under the transparency provisions of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (CAA). These FAQs require health plans and health insurance issuers to submit their first attestation of compliance with the gag clause prohibition by December 31, 2023. Read more here.

Expansion of Electronic Filing of Employee Benefit Plan Returns Beginning in 2024. Beginning in 2024, most employers will be required to electronically file certain IRS returns, including those to comply with the employer shared responsibility provisions under the Affordable Care Act. Read more here.

IRS Announces 2024 Affordable Care Act Play or Pay Penalties. The IRS has announced 2024 penalty amounts related to the employer shared responsibility requirements under the Affordable Care Act. Read more here.

EEO-1 Reporting Deadlines Extended. The deadline for submitting the annual EEO-1 Report to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) for the 2022 year, initially due on March 31, 2023, has been delayed. While no formal deadline has been set, the deadline for submitting 2022 data will likely be no later than mid-September 2023. Read more here.

IRS Issues FAQs on the Reimbursement of Qualifying Medical Expenses from HSAs, FSAs and HRAs. The IRS has released a set of frequently asked questions (FAQs) that explain when certain costs related to nutrition, wellness, and general health are medical expenses under Internal Revenue Code Section 213 that may be paid or reimbursed under a health care flexible spending account (FSA), health savings account (HSA), or a health reimbursement account (HRA). Read more here.

Medicare Guide to Coordination of Benefits. Zywave has published a guide summarizing how Medicare works with respect to employees who have both Medicare, and other health insurance, such as retiree coverage or Medicaid. Read more here.

Preventive Care Benefits Toolkit Available. The Affordable Care Act requires non-grandfathered health plans and health insurance issuers to cover certain preventive health services at 100% coverage without cost-sharing when the services are provided by in-network providers. Accordingly, Zywave has created an employer’s introductory guide to preventive care that provides a general overview of these services and their impact on employers. Read more here.

Lifestyle Spending Accounts. Life Savings Accounts (LSAs) are employer-funded, taxable spending accounts that employees can use to support their individual needs, including their physical, mental, emotional, and financial health and wellness. Employers are increasingly including LSAs in the mix of their benefit offerings to employees. Read more here.

Milliman Releases Recent Mental Health Benefits Survey. Milliman conducted a Pulse Survey focusing on mental health benefits and the experiences of employers today with their employee populations and how they are preparing for a post-pandemic future. Read more here.

Survey of Women’s Experiences with Provider Communications and Interactions in Health Care Settings. The Kaiser Family Foundation has published the results of its 2022 Women’s Health Survey, yielding some concerning results. Read more here.

Question of the Month. Our “Question of the Month” concerns whether medical expenses of an adult child can be reimbursed tax-free from an employee’s health savings account (HSA). Read more here.