PLANSPONSOR Weekend Newsdash
Week ending November 17th, 2017

Happy Friday, PLANSPONSOR readers! This week, we’ll turn our attention towards health care features and other significant benefits. In a new survey from Millennial Personal Finance, workers  revealed they would be willing to sacrifice health care benefits, dental care and paid time off (PTO) in exchange for employer help on loan repayments. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has disclosed the health flexible spending account (FSA) limit for 2018—a $50 increase from that of 2017. AEU Holdings LLC, AEU Benefits LLC and Black Wolf Consulting have been barred by the Department of Labor (DOL) from serving as fiduciaries or service providers to individual employer plans participating in the AEU Holdings LLC Employee Benefit Plan, after failing to pay $26 million worth of medical claims. A survey by Segal looks into the cost management strategies most heavily utilized by group health plans in 2017; and DirectPath presents a health care cost feature designed to estimate prices of medical procedures and treatments. All this and more on this week’s edition of PLANSPONSOR Weekend.

Editor's choice
Data and Research
Workers Will Sacrifice Benefits for Student Loan Repayment Options
One-third would sacrifice retirement benefits.Read more >
Compliance
IRS Announces 2018 Health FSA Limit
The agency also issued a reminder that a certain amount of flexible spending account assets can be rolled over to the following year.Read more >
Compliance
Fiduciaries of MEWA Barred for Failing to Pay Medical Claims
Employer and employee contributions to the multiple employer welfare arrangement were found in offshore Bermuda accounts.Read more >
Benefits
Health Benefit Plan Sponsors Looking at New Ways to Cut Costs
As health plan cost growth continues to outpace wage increases and consumer price inflation, plan sponsors have turned to pharmacy management programs as the main strategy to keep annual increases in the single-digits.Read more >
Products
DirectPath Launches Health Care Cost Estimator
The tool is designed to ensure employees receive the right care while containing costs for themselves and their employers.Read more >
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