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Critical FSA
Change Taking Effect January 1, 2011
FSAs & Debit
Cards To Be Affected By New Health Care Reform Law
 As part of the National Health Care Reform Law, two significant
changes affecting Flexible Spending Accounts will be taking effect over
the next few years. The first change will take effect January 1, 2011.
The change will require that a doctor's note (also known as a letter of
medical necessity) be provided for certain over-the-counter medications
and drugs to be eligible for reimbursement.
This change will go into effect at "the stroke of midnight"
on January 1, 2011, regardless of the plan year and will apply to all
expenses incurred on or after January 1, 2011. This also means that
2010 plan year grace period OTC medication expenses (like aspirin and
cold medicine) will require a doctor's note.
Additionally,
purchases made with Flex Debit Cards will be affected as well. OTC
drugs, medicines and biologicals will remain
eligible with a directive from a provider. However, most Inventory
Information Systems (IIAS) will be updated with the
Eligible products criteria to reflect movement of these items from the
“Eligible” to “Dual Purpose” category.
Eligible items, such as band aids and blood sugar test kits will
continue to be approved at the point-of-sale and will not require a
doctor's note. Dual Purpose items on the other hand, such as Aspirin
and Cough Medicine, will require a doctor’s note and will no longer be
auto-substantiated with an IIAS. This means that participants will need
to pay with a different form of payment and submit a claim manually for
reimbursement of these items.
The second
change, which will become effective for taxable years starting in 2013,
will create a limit on Medical FSAs deductions. This limit will be
$2,500 for 2013 and will be indexed to the Consumer Price Index
starting in 2014.
Crosby will continue to keep you informed of any changes related to
this Law. Both CrosbyBenefits.com
and MyCrosbyBenefits.com
will be updated with this information and we are notifying participants
with this information via Summary Statement enclosures. If you should
have any questions, please feel free to contact your Crosby Consultant:
Darla Rosenfeld,
Linda Fulton
or Max Crosby.
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OTC
Changes, Go Green! & Direct Deposit Inserts
Summary
Statement Recipients to Receive Important Information
 For our Reimbursement
clients, Crosby is now including a FSA Participant Alert with mid-year
Summary Statements explaining the upcoming FSA OTC Change (as mentioned
above). The Alert will also promote the benefits of Direct Deposit and
our Go Green! program which will
send many of our participant communications via email rather than
paper.
MyCrosbyBenefits.com
is also being updated to include information about these topics.
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Catch the
Renewal Wave 2011
Make The Most
Of Your Renewal By Boosting FSA Participation
 Open Enrollment season is just around the corner and we'd
like to remind you that we are committed to helping you increase
Flexible Spending Account participation. Our current economic
environment makes it even more important that your employees understand
the benefits of FSA participation. Crosby offers tools to assist you
with promoting FSA enrollment for your 2011 Plan Year.
► Flex
Debit Card: Our card adds convenience by giving
participants direct access to their Medical FSA funds without having to
pay out-of-pocket. With the improvement of electronic approval systems,
our card is a great tool for increasing participation (saving you more
on FICA) and increasing the value for your participants. If you don't
have the Flex Debit Card, we encourage you to consider it today.
► Benefit
Fairs: Crosby receives many requests to participate in
fairs, so please understand that scheduling is done on a
"first-come-first-serve" basis. We encourage you to let us
know as soon as possible so we may try to fulfill your request. To
request our participation, please email Jocelyn
Brady with the following information:
• Date and Time of fair
• Estimated attendance
• Location (please be specific)
• Parking arrangements
• Raffle - should Crosby contribute a raffle prize?
Crosby will attend benefit fairs upon request, subject to availability.
►
Customized Communications & Promotional Materials:
We can include customized communication pieces with your employee
enrollment packets. We also offer other valuable promotional materials
to boost employee participation such as FSA brochures and informational
one-pagers.
Contact your Crosby Consultant to take advantage of these solutions and
to learn more about preparing for your renewal season.
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Connecticut Enhances State COBRA Rule
 Crosby's COBRA Administration Services are designed to
accommodate state-by-state rules. Recently, Connecticut made a change to
its COBRA rules, below is a brief overview.
As of May 5th, 2010, the state of Connecticut General Assembly passed
legislation, which was later signed by the Governor, that allows for
COBRA eligible individuals to receive continuation benefits up to 30 months,
rather than the federally mandated 18 months. This extension applies to
fully insured small and large employer group health plans in
Connecticut. Individuals currently enrolled in COBRA are eligible to
extend their benefits under this law.
Reminder: Process Change for Debit Card Refunds
We have modified the process for handling
Debit Card refunds for ineligible transactions made by participants.
Prior to the change, these checks were forwarded to you, the client.
Our new process is to return these repaid amounts as credits to your
account. A summary of the new process is as follows:
► Participants notified that receipts
are needed.
► If no receipt is available, participant mails check to Crosby.
► Crosby deposits check, issues credit to employee account and
issues credit to client funding process.
► Crosby sends report to client detailing credit activity.
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The Crosby Connection Newsletter is
intended for Crosby Client Contacts.
© 2010 Crosby Benefit Systems
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Need a Team Roster?
We use a client-centered team approach to best meet your
needs. For your team roster, please email us here.
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....We can manage your HIRD Form
process?
Are you
complying with your 30-day deadlines?
> New hires who turn
down coverage
> Employees who drop coverage
Our process is designed to distribute, track and store Employee HIRD
Forms so that you don't have to.
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...You can streamline your commuter program and add
revenue?
> Quick Implementation
> Easy-To-Use
> All Major Metro Areas Covered
> Fully Automated
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For more
information about any of our services, please contact Jean Sicurella via
email or call 617-630-0496.
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