• Flexible Spending Account (FSA) and Health Savings Account (HSA) Contribution Billing Delay due to Holiday
• Service Changes in Benefits Access Portal can Impact Eligibility
• Qcard Information for Participants
• Life Event Enrollment Windows Extended due to COVID-19
• Changes Allowed to Health Plans, DCAs and FSAs Due to COVID-19

Flexible Spending Account (FSA) and Health Savings Account (HSA) Contribution Billing Delay due to Holiday

Changes or new elections to FSA/HSA contributions that were made to start in July may be delayed due to processing in light of the 4th of July holiday.

The effective dates for the HSA will still be July 1 or later, based upon the election. The delay is just billing-related, while funding will be based on the number of months remaining after the election is processed:

• If the HSA election gets processed before July 4, it will be divided by 6 remaining months.
• If the HSA is processed after July 4, the monthly amount will be based on 5 remaining months, and will not be included in the July Funding file or billing.
• Contributions will post to the account in the month for which they are billed.
• You have the option to continue to withhold the contributions from the participants’ paycheck on the normal schedule, even if Wespath experiences a delay in billing.

Wespath is committed to processing as many requests as possible before the holiday.

Service Changes in Benefits Access Portal can Impact Eligibility

As you enter changes for July 1 or later in Benefits Access Portal (BAP), please remember that changes made in BAP automatically influence eligibility for HealthFlex in Benefitsolver. If you terminate service or move someone to another conference or a non-covered entity without adding an eligible service/location, the system could automatically terminate coverage. Please be cautious and reach out to the Health Team if you have any questions about how your changes to BAP may impact HealthFlex eligibility. This Job Aid can assist you.

Qcard Information for Participants

Reminder that the Blueprint for Wellness® Qcard option will available to all participants on July 1, 2020 through the HealthFlex/WebMD website. This one-page Qcard information sheet will be sent in the Wespath participant email going out the week of June 29. Note: Qcard is not available in NY state and NY residents will not have the Qcard content included in their email from Wespath.

If you have Qcard or other Blueprint for Wellness questions, contact Todd Creviston at tcreviston@wespath.org.

Life Event Enrollment Windows Extended due to COVID-19

We are required by the IRS to extend the timeframe for enrollment after a life event until 60 days after the end of the emergency period. We recognize this could cause administrative challenges in your conferences as the end date has not been determined. For example, if a participant got married in April and if the emergency period extends until next March, the person would have until May of 2021 (60 days later) to add the spouse back to coverage in April of 2020. We will update the Special Enrollment Provisions and the Plan Sponsor Manual accordingly.

If you need assistance or clarification, please contact the Health Team at 1-800-851-2201.

Changes Allowed to Health Plans, DCAs and FSAs Due to COVID-19

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) allowances for health plans in recognition of the fact that many participants are facing unanticipated changes in expenses due to COVID-19, include:

• Permitting mid-year changes to plan elections, such as:
  
  • Electing, changing or ceasing health coverage
  • Prospectively electing or increasing/decreasing health flexible spending arrangements (health care FSAs)
  • Prospectively electing or increasing/decreasing dependent care flexible spending arrangements (dependent care FSAs)
• Extending the claims period to the end of 2020 for unused 2019 FSA or DCA amounts that were due to expire before the end of the year
• Allowing previously provided temporary relief for high deductible health plans to be applied retroactively to January 1, 2020

HealthFlex is only allowing the above changes to FSA (dependent care and medical) and these must be prospective. Some virtual camps (as long as they are associated with a specific topic or skill, like crafts, sports) can also be reimbursable through the DCA. We recognize that some people’s plans have changed due to COVID (day cares not open, elective procedures cancelled), which is beyond their control, so we are making this important allowance. We realize this can pose a challenge to billing churches, but feel it is important relief to offer so people don’t lose their money. On the other hand, we are not allowing them to change plans. We are covering COVID treatment at 100% for all plans, so unexpected health costs due to COVID should be covered in all plans. Letting people change plans mid-year could create adverse selection issues, which would impact the cost to all as well as creating administrative barriers.

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