Employers may be considering changes to their group health plans in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. In some cases, health insurance issuers for fully insured plans may be initiating some of these changes to help individuals impacted by the pandemic. These changes may include:
- Waiving certain eligibility requirements for employees who have been furloughed or laid off or had their hours reduced; and
- Offering a special mid-year enrollment window for employees who did not elect coverage during the last open enrollment period.
In addition, due to COVID-19 relief legislation, employers with health flexible spending accounts (FSAs) and health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs) can amend these plans to allow for tax-free reimbursement of over-the-counter (OTC) drugs and menstrual care products.
COVID-19 legislation also allows employers with high deductible health plans (HDHPs) to amend their plans to allow coverage of COVID-19 treatment and telehealth and other remote care services, without a deductible.
Action Steps
Employers that make changes to their plan’s eligibility and enrollment rules should obtain prior written approval from their issuer (or stop-loss carrier for self-insured benefits). Also, employers that make health plan changes may need to update their plan documents and must communicate the changes to employees through a summary of material modifications (SMM).
In addition, employers that offer special mid-year enrollment opportunities must consider the tax rules for premium payments.
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