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Starting July 1, Covered California for Small Business (CCSB) is offering new Blue Shield plans, providing more options for enrollees. These plans include the Access+ HMO Network with Platinum, Gold, and Silver metal tier options, as well as the Bronze Trio HMO 7000/70. The two most popular Blue Shield High Deductible Health Plans (HDHP), Silver Full PPO Savings 2300/25% and Bronze Full PPO Savings 7000 plans, are also now available.
All of these plans offer benefits such as Wellvolution, Teladoc Mental Health, Nurse Help 24/7, LifeReferrals 24/7, and the Blue Card program for when members are outside of California.
For assistance, please contact our Quotes team at quotes@claremontcompanies.com or 800.696.4543.
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An attractive option for employers looking to ensure their employees remain healthy and secure at this time, IRS Section 139 plans provide employers with a tax-advantaged way of paying employees for qualified emergency expenses during a disaster, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
Qualified Disaster Relief Payments
Section 139 qualified payments to employees are for “reasonable and necessary personal, family, living or funeral expenses incurred as a result of a qualified disaster,” like the COVID-19 pandemic.
There’s no official list of the specific expense items that are considered to be “reasonable and necessary,” but it’s generally accepted that the following items are included:
Payments that do not qualify include items such as lost income, non-essential items, luxury items, decorative items, and services like Netflix, or other items covered elsewhere, e.g. by insurance.
Tax-Advantaged
Qualified payments made through a Section 139 plan are tax-free to employees and fully deductible to employers. These payments are excluded from gross income and wages and compensation for purposes of employment taxes. They are not subject to federal tax withholding and do not need to be reported on Form W-2 of Form 1099. The exclusion may apply to state taxes and state tax withholding as well, but employers should consult with their tax advisor.
Other Advantages
Unlike other similar plans, there are no limits on the dollar amount or frequency of qualified payments. Also, employees are not required to provide receipts or other proof of expenses. (Tax experts recommend that employers implement the usual controls – see the next section.)
Section 139 plans are not subject to ERISA, so they don’t have the same documentation requirements as similar tax-advantaged accounts such as HRAs or HSAs. Tax experts, however, advise that employers implement a plan document that addresses the typical controls: the class of eligible employees, a listing of the type of expenses covered, expense limits or caps, payment procedures, etc.
Claremont HR partner TASC
TASC can help you implement a Section 139 account for your clients. Contact us to get started.
Helpful Resources
Questions?
Contact your Claremont team at 800.696.4543 or info@claremontcompanies.com.
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