by Birch | May 25, 2021 | May Blog Posts
Late in the afternoon of May 18, 2021, the IRS released its long-awaited guidance on the COBRA subsidy created by the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA). The guidance, IRS Notice 2021-31, is predominantly in question-and-answer format. It addresses eighty-six...
by Birch | May 14, 2021 | May Blog Posts
On April 14, 2021, the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued guidance for plan sponsors, fiduciaries, plan participants, and plan beneficiaries on best practices for reducing internal and external cybersecurity...
by Birch | May 14, 2021 | May Blog Posts
2022 Health Savings Account and Health Reimbursement Arrangement Limits The Internal Revenue Service recently released updates to the maximum annual 2022 contribution limits for health savings accounts (HSAs) under high deductible health plans (HDHPs); these...
by Birch | May 13, 2021 | May Blog Posts
One intention of The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) is to provide financial support for families struggling due to the pandemic, such as the temporary COBRA subsidies to help employees maintain health insurance. The Act also includes some provisions that may be...
by Birch | May 11, 2021 | May Blog Posts
Alabama Safety Precautions On May 3, 2021, Gov. Kay Ivey announced that the State’s COVID-19 public health order will end on May 31, 2021, and the state-of-emergency will end on July 6, 2021. Arkansas Unemployment Benefits On May 7, 2021, Gov. Asa Hutchinson announced...
by Birch | May 11, 2021 | May Blog Posts
On May 5, 2021, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) published new regulations that: (1) fix a major concern arising from the ARPA COBRA subsidies, and (2) announce the 2022 maximum out-of-pocket limits for non-grandfathered health plans. The COBRA...
