Vol. XVIII, Issue 19

May 28, 2021

Participants, Spouses Can Now Easily Sign Up for Blueprint for Wellness®

We are excited to announce that both primary participants and covered spouses can now easily register for the Quest Blueprint for Wellness through the Virgin Pulse® website and app.

This new feature, referred to as a single sign-on, will allow people to log into Virgin Pulse and then access the Quest Diagnostics® website without having to enter a second username and password. This is part of Wespath's commitment to making it easier for participants to engage with their benefits, as we shared at the HealthFlex Summit this spring.

To register for the Blueprint for Wellness, people will log in to their Virgin Pulse® account at virginpulse.com/login or via the app, select the "Benefits" tab on the home page and then search for Quest Blueprint for Wellness® Screening.

Primary participants can continue to sign up for a screening through Benefits Access. Both primary participants and covered spouses can also call 1-855-623-9355 to register.

We thank you for your patience as we have worked with Virgin Pulse to make this feature operational.

Final Reminder: Benefits Access is the Source for Health Information Starting June 1

It is almost time for the transition from HealthFlex/WebMD to Benefits Access to become official.

Beginning June 1, Benefits Access will be the lone site for HealthFlex participants to have full access to their health benefits and well-being information. Covered spouses will have access to necessary information through Virgin Pulse.

From May 25 through May 27, we are sending an e-mail to all HealthFlex primary participants who had not yet registered for Benefits Access. The e-mail will include a link to a list of FAQs to assist participants with this transition.

If you receive any questions from participants, here is a list of talking points to address the inquiries we anticipate you might receive.

The transition to Benefits Access is also a result of our commitment to make engaging with health benefits easier and more intuitive for all.

Be on the Lookout for Adoption Agreements

Wespath will e-mail pre-populated Adoption Agreement exhibits next week, and they are due June 30. Plan sponsors can reach out to Bob Gerlach at rgerlach@wespath.org with questions about updating their premium credit or updating their default plan.

We encourage all plan sponsors to consider a default other than the B1000. As we have previously shared, multi-year comparisons of actual participant expenses across each plan type have demonstrated that the B1000 is the lowest net-cost plan for less than 1% of all HealthFlex participants.

Dependent Care FSA Maximum to Remain Unchanged in 2021

Wespath has decided to keep the contribution limit for dependent care flexible spending accounts at $5,000—and $2,500 for taxpayers who are married filing separately—for 2021.

As part of the American Rescue Plan Act that was signed into law in March, HealthFlex had the option to increase the dependent care annual salary reduction to $10,500, and $5,250 in the case of married filing separately, for 2021 only.

Dependent care FSAs allow participants to use pre-tax funds to pay for services such as daycare, summer camps and before- or after-school programs.

Due to the low number of participants currently contributing the maximum and the fact the change would add administrative burden to churches, plan sponsors and Wespath, we will maintain the existing limits.

Participants should keep in mind that the American Rescue Plan Act also increased the value of the dependent care tax credit for 2021. The interaction of the dependent care tax credit and a dependent care FSA is complicated and highly dependent a family’s situation, but in general, the tax credit cannot be claimed for expenses paid through a dependent care FSA. In that case, even without a higher contribution limit in the dependent care FSA, participants may be able to take advantage of enhanced tax treatment of dependent care expenses for 2021.

As previously reported, participants can make changes mid-year to a dependent care FSA in 2021. In summary:


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