Each year, employers sponsoring a fully insured group health plan may receive a medical loss ratio (MLR) rebate from their insurer. Under the ACA's MLR rules, insurers must provide rebates when their spending on clinical services and quality improvement activities, relative to premium revenue, falls below the applicable MLR standard.

The Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) requires group health plans that offer mental health or substance use disorder benefits to provide those benefits on terms that are no restrictive than medical/surgical benefits. That’s the “parity” part of the law.

Does your organization need to run nondiscrimination testing on its cafeteria plan every year? In this video, Bret McKitrick, VP of Compliance at Cottingham & Butler, explains why the IRS cares about who benefits from these plans, why testing is the only real way to prove your plan isn't discriminatory, and what risks to weigh if you decide to skip it. Spoiler: it's a "maybe, kinda, yeah, sort of" answer, and Bret walks you through why.