​An expired provision that authorized high-deductible health plans to reimburse for telehealth and other remote health care services before the deductible has been met, has been revived.

The provision was extended from April 1 through Dec. 31 after President Biden signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2022.

​One fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic has been an increase in the number of Americans who are working from home permanently.

With so many people being freed from the yokes of the office, many have chosen to move to other states for a variety of lifestyle or cost reasons. But while these arrangements can be a boon for workers, they can make it difficult when it comes to your workers' group health insurance.

The U.S. House of Representatives has passed legislation that would cap the out-of-pocket cost of insulin at $35 a month for people with group or private health insurance.

While the measure still has to face a vote in the Senate, it has broad backing after the cost of insulin has skyrocketed in recent years. People who used to pay less than $100 a month for the vital medication are sometimes paying more than $1,000, depending on their health insurance coverage.

It's no secret that most employees do not fully understand all of their health insurance benefits, which can lead to worse health outcomes and them spending more money than they need to for some medical procedures.

A recent survey of 226 executives by Harvard Business Review Analytic Services concluded that employees and employers could enjoy better outcomes if it were easier for employees to find, understand and use the benefits available to them.

The Department of Health and Human Services has issued some new "frequently asked questions" for its Affordable Care Act pages, and new guidelines that require group health plans to expand what they are required to cover with no cost-sharing.

The new FAQ section expands the age group for which insurers must cover colonoscopies and adds some women's services that must also be covered with no out-of-pocket costs on the part of the insured patient.

One way you can give your staff more choice in the employee benefits they receive is to offer them a cafeteria plan, which allows them to put together a benefits package that works best for them.

Employers fund these flexible benefit plans with funds that are deducted from their employees' salaries on a pre-tax basis. Since the salary reductions are not received by the employee, they are not considered wages for income tax purposes.

As rising health insurance premiums and out-of-pocket costs for health care are burdening workers, more employers are looking for ways to help their staff put aside money for those expenses.

While health savings accounts have grown in popularity, you can only offer them to employees who are enrolled in high-deductible health plans. Fortunately, there is another option: a health reimbursement arrangement (HRA).

A new report has concluded that the Affordable Care Act, which took full effect in 2013, did not result in a significant change in the number of employers offering health insurance, although the rate at which small employers offered coverage declined slightly by 2.6 percentage points between 2013 and 2020.

The study by the Urban Institute found that the small-group health insurance market remained relatively stable during those seven years, a period marked by employers continuing to shift more of the premium burden to their employees.

Starting Jan. 15, the nation's health insurers have been required to cover the cost of up to eight at-home rapid COVID-19 tests per month for their health plan enrollees.

Insurers are taking different approaches to the mandate and, as an employer, you should communicate with your covered staff about this new benefit, how it works and other advice.

The time when the IRS offers relief from financial penalties to employers that make errors on their group health insurance reporting forms has come to an end.

Starting this year, the IRS will no longer offer protection against reporting error penalties when "applicable large employers" (ALEs) file their Forms 1094-C and 1095-C and the employer has made a good-faith effort to comply. The change starting with the 2021 tax reporting year means that employers can face steep penalties for mistakes on their forms.