Ep 94: New COVID-19 Relief Bill: FSA and Tax Credit Extensions and Other Items of Interest

In this episode, Suzanne Spradley and Chase Cannon look at the brand new COVID-19 relief bill, called the Consolidated Appropriates Act of 2021. Suzanne starts with a provision of the bill that allows (at the employer’s discretion) employees to rollover unused amounts in their FSAs (health and dependent care) from 2020 to 2021 and from 2021 to 2022. Suzanne and Chase then talk about practical implications of the act, including employee notification, administration, and plan document updates before digging into provisions of the law that apply to individuals, including unemployment benefits and stimulus checks. Suzanne outlines the items in the law relating to small businesses, including extensions of employee retention and FFCRA tax credits and additional amendments to the PPP loan program. Suzanne and Chase close with a discussion of new prohibitions on certain surprise billing practices and on new requirements for plans and carriers on price transparency.