For many of us, our children are our greatest gifts. But caring for even the happiest and healthiest children can take a toll on parents. Add full-time work (or multiple part-time jobs) into the mix, and some days may feel like a challenge you can’t overcome. Now imagine taking care of an aging parent at the same time. Add in homeschooling during a pandemic and/or a child with special needs. Exhausted yet? The idea of
Before the pandemic, workers paid a lot for their daily work commute. From time spent on the road, to the cost of transit fares or vehicle expenses, costs added up quickly. Some employees welcomed the remote work arrangements mandated by the pandemic in part because it helped them to avoid transit time and expense. With many employers now requiring a return to the office, what do employees face with commuting in a new work world?
Did you know that it’s National Children’s Dental Health Month? Parents have a lot of questions about their kids’ teeth. Each February, the American Dental Association (ADA) takes this opportunity to raise awareness regarding children’s dental health with tips and tricks. And, you can use your benefit accounts to pay for much of it! Children’s Dental Care 101 According to the Centers for Disease Control, children with poor dental health miss more school and receive
If you have a high deductible health plan (HDHP), you may also have an HSA account. HSAs come with a variety of funding options, but check the fine print first. Read on to learn and understand more about these beneficial consumer directed healthcare accounts and the various ways in which they can be funded. Owning a Health Savings Account (HSA) comes with many benefits. HSA owners make tax-free contributions, earn tax-free interest and investment income, and can use
The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently announced new preventive care and screening guidelines aimed at reducing out-of-pocket expenses for women, infants, children, and adolescents. The new guidelines take effect for plan years beginning in 2023. Under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), certain group health plans and insurance issuers must provide coverage for preventive health services with no out-of-pocket cost. More than 150 million
The Cures Act allows small employers to offer Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRAs) to their workforce to help cover the cost of medical expenses and health insurance premiums for themselves and their families. Employers and workers alike have questions about how a Qualified Small Employer Health Reimbursement Arrangement (QSEHRA) will affect them. Legal experts are in the process of interpreting the law, but here’s a list of some QSEHRA FAQs and their answers that are generally agreed upon.
In response to pandemic-related dependent care challenges, the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) added temporary relief to the Child Tax Credit (CTC) program for 2021. The changes were expected to become permanent, but as 2021 ended, the legislation to achieve this did not pass. Now, qualified parents/guardians will be receiving refundable balances due as part of their 2021 tax return. More information on this, along with tax relief changes to Dependent Care Assistance Program (DCAP) for 2022, are
Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) were introduced in 2003 as a way to help individuals offset high deductible health plan (HDHP) costs. Since then, they have grown steadily in both the number of accounts and account assets. Yet, despite appealing across demographic groups, HSAs still aren’t as well understood or utilized as 401k plans or IRAs. To some degree the accounts remain an untapped market. As such, growth of HSA accounts may continue exponentially with sufficient
Healthcare costs are expected to trend higher by about 6.5 percent this year. COVID-19 and mental health care will drive the increase, among other health issues. But some relief is already here. Effective January 1, the No Surprises Act aims to protect patients after a service or product has already been provided by banning certain out-of-network billings and educating patients on how to question charges. The Transparency in Coverage rule, also now in effect, will help patients before a service
When the pandemic hit, workers were being furloughed or laid off in droves as forced shutdowns shrank or entirely eliminated many businesses. As businesses attempt to hire people back, another phenomenon has taken shape. Workers are refusing to go back to previous jobs or quitting the ones they do have. With so many positions to fill and so many people not working, what’s an employer to do? Money Alone is Not Enough Logic might dictate