HealthFlex Express Archive || E-Newsletters || Wespath Benefits and Investments Website

Vol. XVII, Issue 7

April 22, 2020

Deferral of HealthFlex Premiums

As you saw in a letter from Wespath leadership, we are implementing relief efforts for conferences as approved by our Board of Directors. For all plan sponsors sponsoring HealthFlex, we are providing a deferral of premium payments for the months of May and June. Normal May payments will be deferred by 90 days until August, and June payments will be deferred until September. Under this deferral, July payments will be collected as usual, while May and August will be collected together, as will June and September. To be eligible for the deferral program, plan sponsors must be fully current on HealthFlex premiums through April as of April 30.

No Out-of-Pocket Cost for COVID-19 Treatment through May

The IRS allows health plans to choose to cover COVID-19-related treatments at 100%, even for HSA-qualified plans for a limited period. HealthFlex is partnering with Blue Cross Blue Shield and United Healthcare to allow this 100% coverage for in-network COVID-19 treatment, in addition to COVID-19 testing, through May. We will continue to provide updates about future coverage as information becomes available.

Health Savings Accounts (HSA) Investments

Per the timeline we communicated with you last week, approximately 90 individuals who had any of their HSA funds invested through BNY Mellon received a letter from HealthEquity discussing their account liquidation and transfer. We will be partnering with WageWorks to send additional communications to these individuals, to recommend they work with EY Financial Services if they need guidance on the timing or choices of reinvesting their funds with HealthEquity.

Implications of Tax Filing Extension on HSAs

With the IRS extending the 2019 tax deadline to July 15, participants can still contribute additional funds to 2019 Health Savings Accounts through July 15. Participants’ 1099-SA forms for 2019 are available for their retrieval on the HSA Hub in WageWorks through HealthFlex/WebMD. The 5498-SA forms are not required to be attached to a tax filing and should be available following the July 15 deadline to capture all contributions. BNY Mellon would have already mailed the 1099-SA forms. We will provide more details about how to make additional 2019 HSA contributions after the HealthEquity transition is complete and before July 15.

Participant Communication

Wespath's weekly participant e-blast this week will be customized for HealthFlex participants to share details on some of the items detailed above, including (1) coverage of in-network COVID-19 treatment expenses at no cost to the participant through May, and (2) the HSA contribution deadline extension. It also highlights our #WespathCares initiative, which aims to provide relief efforts to essential workers in our local community and information on federal stimulus checks.

Health and Safety Support through COVID-19

Wespath's Director of Health and Well-Being Kelly Wittich outlines updates to the HealthFlex insurance program that are designed to ensure participant access to testing, treatment and medical resources during the COVID-19 pandemic. This video can be shared on your websites or sent to participants to help you explain the updates. The video will also be available on our Facebook and Twitter pages for you to easily share.

Blueprint for Wellness® (BFW) and HealthQuotient (HQ) Deadlines Extended

As we communicated in last week's HealthFlex Express, the end dates for BFW and HQ participation have been extended through September 30, 2020. Toolkit pieces reflecting the new dates are now available on our extranet for your use with participants.

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