ORLANDO, Florida – EBenefitsHub is pleased to announce its addition of NueSynergy as an Exclusive National Core Partner. “We are excited to include the fully integrated suite of administration services assembled by Josh Collins, President, and the rest of the NueSynergy team over the past 27 years,” said EBenefitsHub Founder and CEO, Nick Gregory, ChWE. “NueSynergy has earned respect for its industry-leading service, innovative technology, and excellence in providing full-service administration of consumer-driven and traditional account-based plans among other solutions.”:
Flexible Spending Accounts, Health Reimbursement Arrangements, Health Savings Accounts, Lifestyle Spending Accounts, SpouseSaver Incentive Accounts, COBRAcare+ Administration, Premium Only Plans, Combined Billing, Direct Billing, and Private Label Solutions.
“NueSynergy continues to expand its national presence by offering a wide variety of forward-thinking, employer-centric products and services,” said Josh Collins, president of NueSynergy. “It’s important for us to work alongside an elite and diverse group of reputable companies to build solutions and long-term relationships for our mutual clients.”
With this announcement, NueSynergy joins a collection of exclusive, best-of-breed CorePartner organizations to provide services and products to BenefitsPros across the country. The result is the fusion of advanced knowledge, experience, services, technology, and products to create a synchronized hub for BenefitsPros and their business clients.
“We have engineered a modernized suite of snap-on digital solutions coupled with an arsenal of resources necessary for employee benefits providers to prevail within today’s competitively complex employee benefits landscape,” said Nick Gregory. “BenefitsPros can design and build their digital benefits hub . . . as they wish.
“With the help of NueSynergy and our other CorePartners, BenefitsPros can embrace the digital revolution, bridging the gaps while cutting away the bad plumbing of detached digital and manual processes . . . their way. They can neutralize competitors, expand client offerings, harvest more clients, and future-proof success. In a sea of sameness, BenefitsPros can brand, position, and differentiate to create an unfair advantage.”
About NueSynergy
NueSynergy, Inc., a privately held company, is one of the nation’s fastest growing employee benefits and billing administrators in the country. Headquartered in Leawood, Kansas, NueSynergy also has locations in Arizona, Florida, Idaho, North Carolina, Virginia, Washington, and Rzeszów, Poland.
NueSynergy offers a fully integrated suite of administration services, which include Health Savings Account (HSA), Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA), Flexible Spending Account (FSA), Lifestyle Savings Account (LSA), and COBRAcare+ administration as well as SpouseSaver Incentive Account, Combined Billing, Direct Billing, and Specialty Solutions. For more information, visit www.NueSynergy.com.
About EBenefitsHub
EBenefitsHub has engineered a modernized suite of snap-on digital solutions synchronized within its holistic EBHub Dashboard and “white label” All-In-One MobileFirst App. The EBHub “ecosystem” is coupled with an arsenal of resources necessary for benefits professionals to prevail within today’s competitively complex benefits landscape. BenefitsPros can design/build their digital benefits hubs . . . on their terms. With the help of EBHub CorePartners, BenefitsPros can embrace the digital revolution; bridging the gaps while cutting away the bad plumbing of detached digital and manual processes.
They can neutralize competitors, expand client offerings, harvest more clients and future-proof success. In a sea of sameness, BenefitsPros can brand, position and differentiate to create an unfair advantage. The result is seamlessly harmonized employee benefits, engagement and communications, merged into a powerfully holistic platform for BenefitsPros and their clients:
The IRS has issued FAQs that explain when certain costs related to nutrition, wellness, and general health are medical expenses under Code § 213 that may be paid or reimbursed under a health FSA, HSA, or HRA. As background, Code § 213 defines medical care as amounts paid for the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease, or for the purpose of affecting a structure or function of the body. The FAQs explain that medical expenses must be primarily to alleviate or prevent a physical or mental disability or illness, and do not include expenses that are merely beneficial to general health.
The FAQs confirm that the costs of dental, eye, and physical exams are medical expenses that can be paid or reimbursed by a health FSA, HSA, or HRA because these exams diagnose whether a disease or illness is present. The costs of smoking cessation programs and programs that treat drug-related substance use or alcohol use disorders are also medical expenses because they treat a disease. For the cost of therapy to be a medical expense, the therapy must treat a disease—thus, amounts paid for therapy to treat a diagnosed mental illness are medical expenses, while amounts paid for marital counseling are not. Likewise, the costs of nutritional counseling and weight-loss programs are medical expenses only if the counseling or program treats a specific disease diagnosed by a physician (e.g., obesity or diabetes); otherwise, these costs are not medical expenses. The cost of a gym membership is a medical expense only if the membership was purchased for the sole purpose of affecting a structure or function of the body (e.g., a prescribed plan for physical therapy to treat an injury) or treating a specific disease diagnosed by a physician (e.g., obesity or heart disease). However, the cost of exercise for the improvement of general health is not a medical expense, even if recommended by a doctor.
The FAQs also explain the circumstances under which the cost of food or beverages purchased for weight loss or other health reasons will qualify as medical expenses, and that the cost of non-prescription drugs can be paid or reimbursed by a health FSA, HSA, or HRA even though these items (except for insulin) are not deductible under Code § 213. The FAQs confirm that the cost of nutritional supplements is not a medical expense unless the supplements are recommended by a medical practitioner as treatment for a specific medical condition diagnosed by a physician.
As many know, a Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA) is an employer-funded account that helps pay for a medical plan’s deductible and co-insurance expenses. There are three ways to access an HRA. Here they are as follows.
Filing an electronic claim: this can be submitted by signing into your NueSynergy account.
Filing a paper claim: a paper claim along with a copy of Explanation of Benefits (EOB) can be emailed to NueSnergy. A paper claim can be obtained by signing into your NueSynergy account or by calling NueSynergy’s customer service team (855-890-7239).
Providing documentation: A copy of your EOB from your insurance company is required to approve any claim for reimbursement.
For more information on accessing HRA funds and about this account in general, check out this handout.
Two months ago, NueSynergy wrote about several Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA) FAQs to keep in mind. Now, taking it a step further, NueSynergy will discuss what employers, specifically, should look for in regard to an HRA. Here it is as follows:
An HRA can be paired with any health plan with no limitations
This means that high-deductible health plans (HDHPs) are not required in order to offer this account.
What happens to the funds if my employee leaves the company?
HRA funds are not portable. Therefore, if any funds become unused then any remaining amount returns to you (employer).
An employer can only contribute funds to an HRA
This also means that owners and partners cannot participate in this account. Per IRS guidelines, anyone with two percent or more ownership in a schedule S corporation, LLC, LLP, sole proprietorship, or partnership may not participate. If you would like to provide an opportunity for your employee to save for additional medical expenses tax-free, then suggest them to enroll in a Flexible Spending Account (FSA).
As an employer, can I choose proration for new hires and family status change?
Yes. You can prorate contributions as long as it occurs throughout the year.
When does an HRA begin paying for an employee’s expenses?
An employer can either allow an HRA to pay before the employee meets any deductible, or it can be set up so that the employee has to meet a certain amount of out-of-pocket expenses before the HRA begins to pay.
