IRS relaxes FSA “use-it-or-lose-it” rule; self-insured employers get a break under new ACA rules; and polls show ACA disconnect: 3 things you need to know this week in employee benefits

FSA rules loosened to permit rollovers

Starting as early as this year, employees holding health care flexible spending accounts may rollover up to $500, ending the 30-year-old “use-it-or-lose-it” rule, the Internal Revenue Service and Treasury Department announced this week.

In the announcement, Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew called the rule change “a step forward for hardworking Americans who wisely plan for health care expenses for the coming year.”

It’s important to note that the change does not affect a rule under Affordable Care Act that caps contributions to the accounts at $2,500, and prohibits using FSA funds for over-the-counter medicines or medical supplies.

Whether to allow the rollover rule is at an employer’s discretion. Some employers allow a grace period for employees to spend down their accounts; however, companies cannot permit a grace period and a rollover, the Treasury stipulated.

Self-insured employers get two-year exemption from ACA reinsurance rules

Among a series of ACA regulations released by the Department of Health and Human Services this week is a two-year reprieve for self-insured employers from reinsurance fees.

The fees, set at $63 per enrollee in a medical plan, are designed to collect $25 billion to cover high claims in state exchanges.

Although employers will still owe the fees for 2014, the fees will be waived for 2015 and 2016, HHS announced. HHS also is considering shifting how the fees will be collected following the exemption, perhaps allowing employers to pay them in two installments.

This week’s hidden gem: Polls show consumers have positive view of exchanges … but want to eliminate them

Separate surveys released this week show a significant disconnect between how Americans view the Affordable Care Act exchanges in theory vs. reality.

In one poll from NBC News and the Wall Street Journal, 52% of Americans believe the health care law needs either to be majorly overhauled or completely eliminated; and another poll from Pew Research, shows that almost as many (51%) are against ACA, and 50% don’t believe the exchanges are working well.

Yet, among individuals who have actually used an exchange, 56% say they personally found the site easy to use, Pew reports.

Interestingly, Pew finds that 41% of people who say they’ve visited an exchange site already have employer-provided insurance—a curiosity that suggests companies may want to more aggressively communicate the value of their plans.