If you’re following the news, you know Congress came to a compromise and passed another round of Covid Relief. And then . . . . . . . .
There are provisions in this Bill affecting health insurance. They are:
- Surprise Billing for ER and ambulance providers will end as of 1/1/2022. . For other claims, this agreement utilizes arbitration. However, the Bill does require the arbiter to consider the median in-network rate for the service in
question.
- Transparency provisions, including disclosure of direct and indirect compensation for brokers and consultants for both employer-sponsored and individual market plans. (Regular Tips readers will recall that’s something we’ve regularly
done.)
- Additional flexibility for taxpayers to rollover unused amounts in their health and dependent care FSAs from 2020 to 2021 and from 2021 to 2022. This provision also permits employers to allow employees to make a 2021 mid-year
prospective change in contribution amounts.
While not exactly game changers, these are all steps in the right direction.
This writer will go so far as to predict they’ll save consumers somewhere between $600 - $2,000 per year.
(It'll be more actually, but why miss an opportunity for a little 'snark>!')
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
