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Legal Update Header On May 10, 2021, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released guidance on the taxability of dependent care assistance programs (DCAPs) for 2021 and 2022, clarifying that amounts attributable to previously issued carryover and extended grace period relief generally are not taxable.

Specifically, if these dependent care benefits would have been excluded from income if used during taxable year 2020 (or 2021, if applicable), these benefits will remain excludible from gross income and are not considered wages of the employee for 2021 and 2022.

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For a growing number of employers, voluntary accident insurance plans may play a part in rounding out employee benefits packages to help employees pay for unexpected costs.

Accidents can happen to anyone—and the reality is that accidents do happen. In fact, more than 80 million people in the United States seek medical treatment for injuries each year. This article provides an overview of accident insurance and reasons why many employers are offering this voluntary benefit to employees.

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HR Compliance Bulletin header image On April 7, 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued answers to frequently asked questions (FAQs) about the American Rescue Plan Act’s (ARPA) premium assistance for health insurance continuation coverage under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1986 (COBRA) and similar state mini-COBRA programs.

The DOL’s FAQs are reprinted in this Compliance Bulletin.

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Legal Update Header On April 7, 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued FAQs and model notices for the COBRA premium assistance provisions of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).

The ARPA provides a 100% subsidy for employer-sponsored group health insurance continued under COBRA and similar state continuation of coverage programs for eligible individuals. The subsidy applies from April 1 through Sept. 30, 2021. The notices and the FAQs appear on a new DOL webpage dedicated to the ARPA COBRA subsidy.

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Legal Update Header The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (CAA) amended the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 (MHPAEA) to provide additional protections.

On April 2, 2021, the Departments of Labor (DOL), Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Treasury (Departments) jointly issued FAQs to clarify these amendments. In particular, the CAA requires group health plans and health insurance issuers to conduct comparative analyses of the nonquantitative treatment limitations (NQTLs) used for medical and surgical benefits as compared to mental health and substance use disorder (MH/SUD) benefits. The comparative analyses, and certain other information, must be made available upon request to applicable agencies beginning Feb. 10, 2021.