• An IRS Form is Available Electronically for the First Time
• Additional IRS Guidance Concerning FSA Relief
• Your Same Dental Information, but More Secure

An IRS Form is Available Electronically for the First Time

Wespath will soon send out Form 1095-B, Health Coverage (Form 1095-B) the IRS-required document that shows participants the months they—and everyone else on their policy—had health care coverage through HealthFlex in 2020. This includes months during which a terminated participant had a HealthFlex Health Reimbursement Account (HRA) balance.

This is the first year Wespath offered participants the option to receive their form electronically and 63% of individuals opted in during annual election. These individuals will receive an e-mail from Benefitsolver® beginning next week that notifies them their 1095-B is available online, where they have the option to print or save it.

Wespath made the form available electronically for stewardship purposes as it saves on printing and shipping costs. Plus, it provides participants with direct control of their personal health information.

Forms will be mailed to participants who elected a paper copy by March 2.

Additional IRS Guidance Concerning FSA Relief

Last week the IRS issued IRS Notice 2021-15 with additional guidance around temporary flexibility for Flexible Spending Account (FSA) elections as allowed by the Consolidated Appropriations Act. This guidance clarified that participants who did not elect an FSA are permitted to make the election in addition to being permitted to change their elections as detailed in the January 13 HealthFlex Express. To summarize what changes are allowed:

• Participants are permitted to elect, terminate, increase or decrease their health or dependent care FSA;
• Changes must be prospective, meaning participants can't undo contributions that have already been made; and
• The change cannot be for less than what has already been contributed or reimbursed.

Changes can come through the plan sponsor or directly to Wespath. If a request comes directly to Wespath, we will notify the plan sponsor at the time we make the change.

Additionally, the IRS guidance addressed how the dependent care FSA carryover feature can be used by a participant whose child turns age 13 in 2021. We have added a new FAQ to explain this and updated the FAQs to reflect all of the new IRS guidance.

Wespath will include this information in the next Wespath Update e-mail to participants in mid-March.

Your Same Dental Information, but More Secure

To protect customers’ confidential information, Cigna will require people to use two-step authentication to access their dental benefits online starting March 17.

Two-step authentication has been an option for Cigna customers since 2018. Cigna will e-mail all customers who have not yet opted for two-step authentication to notify them that it will soon be required. The e-mails, which started to go out Monday, will direct customers to the myCigna log in screen to start the process.

Customers must have either a valid mobile phone number or a valid e-mail address to receive a unique code for two-step authentication.

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