Compliance Bulletin | November 2024

Welcome to the November 2024 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 upcoming compliance deadlines and includes our timeline of upcoming compliance requirements, in addition to providing information regarding certain hot-button compliance issues significantly impacting employers.

Upcoming Compliance Deadlines.

For information regarding upcoming compliance deadlines for employer-sponsored group health plans, read more here.

2024 HIPAA Privacy and Security Rule Training Calendar.

This year’s BRCC HIPAA training calendar is available here.

2024 BRCC Educational Webinar Calendar.

The BRCC’s monthly educational webinar series calendar for 2024 is available here.

2024-2025 ACA Reporting Office Hours with BRCC Compliance Experts.

The BRCC announces a new series of open office hours with our ACA compliance experts, designed specifically for the 2024-2025 reporting season. Whether you are looking for guidance on the latest regulatory changes or need help with ACA reporting forms, our experts are here to assist. More information is available here.

2025 Open Enrollment Checklist.

To get ready for open enrollment, employers who sponsor group health plans should be aware of compliance changes affecting the design and administration of their health plans for plan years beginning on or after January 1, 2025. These changes include limits that are adjusted for inflation each year, such as the Affordable Care Act’s (“ACA”) affordability percentage and cost-sharing limits for high deductible health plans (“HDHPs”). Employers should review their health plan’s design to confirm that it has been updated, as necessary, for these changes. Read more here.

Updated Cybersecurity Guidance for Employee Benefit Plans.

In its Compliance Assistance Release No. 2024-01, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (“EBSA”) confirmed that the cybersecurity guidance it issued in April 2021 generally applies to all employee benefit plans, including health and welfare plans. Read more here.

2024 ACA Reporting Forms and Instructions Finalized.

The IRS has released the final 2024 forms together with instructions for reporting under Internal Revenue Code Sections 6055 and 6056. Read more here.

Nondiscrimination in Action – 2nd Article – Self-insured Group Health Plans.

The IRC §105(h) nondiscrimination rules generally apply to self-insured medical reimbursement plans. All self-insured health plans are subject to these nondiscrimination rules—no exceptions apply for small employers or plans that have grandfathered status under the ACA. Read more here.

Federal Government Proposes a Rule to Make Over-the-Counter Birth Control Free.

The federal executive branch, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”), the Department of Labor (“DOL”) and the Treasury Department (“Treasury”) proposed a rule to expand access to contraception, including covering 100% of the costs for over-the-counter birth control and condoms for men and women of reproductive age that have private health insurance. Read more here.

The Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) Approves Employee Choice Among Several Benefit Plans for Employer Contributions.

The Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”), in a Private Letter Ruling 202434006 (“PLR”) released August 23, 2024, approved new flexibility, outside of a cafeteria plan, for the employee to choose where their employer’s contribution should be placed.  The new contribution scheme offers employees the flexibility in deciding how much of an employer’s benefit plan contributions should be allocated in several different plans such as a 401(k) or other defined contribution plan, a Health Reimbursement Plan (“HRA”), a Health Savings Account (“HSA”) or the employer’s contribution to the employee’s medical plan. Read more here.

Question of the Month.

Our “Question of the Month” concerns the impact of a COBRA Eligibility. Read more here.