What is COBRA continuation health coverage?

by | Sep 15, 2021

COBRA, which stands for “Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act,” is a federal law that requires group health plans to provide a temporary continuation of group health coverage that otherwise might be terminated due to certain specific “qualifying events.”

COBRA requires continuation coverage to be offered to covered employees, their spouses, former spouses, and dependent children when group health coverage would otherwise be lost COBRA is often more expensive than the amount that active employees are required to pay for group health coverage since the employer usually pays part of the cost of employees’ coverage and all of that cost can be charged to individuals receiving continuation coverage.

What tax forms will I receive for my HSA?

by | Sep 15, 2021

Form 1099-SA notifies the IRS of distributions made from your HSA during the tax year. Form 5498-SA notifies the IRS of contributions made to your HSA during the tax year. These forms will be available electronically for your NueSynergy HSA and can be found online under “Tax Forms” within the “My HSA” section.

Who is eligible for continuation coverage under COBRA?

by | Sep 15, 2021

To be eligible for COBRA coverage, you must have been enrolled in your employer’s health plan when you worked and the health plan must continue to be in effect for active employees. COBRA continuation coverage is available upon the occurrence of a qualifying event that would, except for the COBRA continuation coverage, cause an individual to lose his or her health care coverage.

In order to be entitled to elect COBRA continuation coverage, your group health plan must be covered by COBRA; a qualifying event must occur; and you must be a qualified beneficiary for that event. Plan Coverage – COBRA covers group health plans sponsored by an employer (private-sector or state/local government) that employed at least 20 employees on more than 50 percent of its typical business days in the previous calendar year. Both full- and part-time employees are counted to determine whether a plan is subject to COBRA. Each part-time employee counts as a fraction of a full-time employee, with the fraction equal to the number of hours that the part-time employee worked divided by the hours an employee must work to be considered full time.

Qualifying Events – Qualifying events are events that cause an individual to lose his or her group health coverage. The type of qualifying event determines who the qualified beneficiaries are for that event and the period of time that a plan must offer continuation coverage. COBRA establishes only the minimum requirements for continuation coverage. A plan may always choose to provide longer periods of continuation coverage.

The following are qualifying events for covered employees if they cause the covered employee to lose coverage:

Termination of the employee’s employment for any reason other than gross misconduct; or

Reduction in the number of hours of employment.

The following are qualifying events for the spouse and dependent child of a covered employee if they cause the spouse or dependent child to lose coverage:

Termination of the covered employee’s employment for any reason other than gross misconduct;

Reduction in the hours worked by the covered employee;

Covered employee becomes entitled to Medicare;

Divorce or legal separation of the spouse from the covered employee;

or Death of the covered employee.

In addition to the above, the following is a qualifying event for a dependent child of a covered employee if it causes the child to lose coverage: Loss of dependent child status under the plan rules. Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, plans that offer coverage to children on their parents’ plan must make the coverage available until the adult child reaches the age of 26. Qualified Beneficiaries – A qualified beneficiary is an individual covered by a group health plan on the day before a qualifying event occurred that caused him or her to lose coverage. Only certain individuals can become qualified beneficiaries due to a qualifying event, and the type of qualifying event determines who can become a qualified beneficiary when it happens. A qualified beneficiary must be a covered employee, the employee’s spouse or former spouse, or the employee’s dependent child. In certain cases involving the bankruptcy of the employer sponsoring the plan, a retired employee, the retired employee’s spouse or former spouse, and the retired employee’s dependent children may be qualified beneficiaries. In addition, any child born to or placed for adoption with a covered employee during a period of continuation coverage is automatically considered a qualified beneficiary. An employer’s agents, independent contractors, and directors who participate in the group health plan may also be qualified beneficiaries.