DataPath's 2005 Annual Conference, Connections '05, will be held September 21-23 at the Grand Casino and Resort in Tunica, MS (just south of Memphis).

Click here to visit our Connections '05 web site for more information.

Click here to register.

REMINDER

The U.S. Treasury’s transition relief period, making non-preventive pharmacy benefits subject to deductibles for all HSA-qualified, high-deductible health plans, will end December 31, 2005.

HSA Premiums drop 15% From 2004

Report from eHealth Insurance found that remiums for portable, tax-advantaged HSAs have dropped 15% from 2004.

Click here to read report.

Upcoming Seminars

DPI 125 Basic Software Training::
October 19-20
December 7-8

DPI 125 Advanced / CMS Software:
October 11-12
November 29-30

Global Claims Processing / CMS:
October 13
December 1

DPI-105 HRA Software
October 14
Decenber 2

DPI COBRA Education/Training:
October 10
November 28

myHSAToday™ Training:
October 18
December 6

Click here to view Event Calendar.

All seminars will be in Little Rock, AR.

DataPath Websites

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hsa223.com
hra105.com
myResourceCard.com
mySourceCard.com
idpas.com
Change0fStatus.com

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my RSC.com

DNS: DataPath Web Services

EFTS: Electronic Funds Transfer Service

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If you have any comments on the articles in this newsletter or suggestions for future newsletters, please email mvinson@dpath.com. We welcome your input.

Tentative Agenda Set for Connections '05

The DataPath staff has completed a tentative Agenda for our Annual Conference. You can click here to view a PDF file showing the Agenda and a Registration Form.

This Agenda does not reflect the Advanced Workshops (see article below). A separate Advanced Workshops Agenda will be available soon, and you will be able to view it by clicking here.

We have set up a separate website for Connections '05. Click here to get the latest information.

We look forward to seeing you at the Conference!

Advanced Workshops Added to Annual Conference Agenda

DataPath has added a series of administrative “best practices” workshops to the agenda for our Annual Conference. These advanced breakout sessions will focus on the administration of complex plan designs such as FSAs, HRAs, and MERPs (with or without debit cards), administration in a paperless office, and other real-world administrative topics.

These workshops will run concurrently with the Main Agenda on Wednesday, September 21, and Friday, September 23, and are designed for administrators who wish to discover the best practices of experienced users of DataPath software. (These workshops are not intended for beginning users.)

The final decision on the topics will depend on your feedback. Let us know what you want to see discussed, whether it is one of the above topics or another topic.

Click here to see the topics under consideration.

DataPath President Authors Article for Journal of Payment Systems Law

John J. Robbins, Sr. (President and CEO of DataPath, Inc.) authored the article, "Is a Credit Card the Answer to HSA Reimbursement Questions?" which appeared in the June/July 2005 issue of the Journal of Payment Systems Law. The article explores in depth the issues involved in offering electronic payment cards to employees as a way to facilitate payment of health care expenses.

Click here to read the rest of the article.

Survey of Employers' Plans for Implementing New Grace Period Regulations

On August 10, 2005, Deloitte Center for Health Solutions and the ERISA Industry Committee released the results of their survey on employers' plans to administer the new federal tax rules allowing participants to carry over unused FSA balances for two and a half months into the new year. (Click here to read the article in last month's newsletter explaining how DataPath is responding to these new regulations.)

The survey interviewed 318 employers from the private sector and the government during the period of July 18 - 26, 2005. Of the employers interviewed, 61% have at least 2,000 employees, and 19 percent have more than 20,000 employees.

Click here to read the results of the survey.

IRS Releases Regs on HSA Comparability

On August 25, 2005, IRS released the HSA comparability rule guidance we have been expecting. However, this comprehensive guidance holds a few surprises that we were not expecting. Some of the highlights of this guidance are as follows:

• The scope of the potential plan exception to the HSA comparability rule is severely constricted.

• The comparability rule applies to current and former employees (other than COBRA participants).

• Guidance is provided on the manner in which contributions can be made.

• Guidance is provided on the contribution requirements where both a husband and wife are employed by the same employer and each have an HSA.

Click here to see the Treasury's press release.
Click here for a copy of Prop. Treas. Reg. Secs. 54.4980G-1 through 54.4980G-5 (Aug. 26, 2005).

Click here to read the details.

IRS 2005-2006 Business Plan Released

The IRS Business Plan for July 2005 - June 2006 lists 254 projects including projects on the following topics.

• HSAs
• DCAPS
• § 125 Cafeteria Plans
• Debit Cards for Health FSAs
• Debit Cards for Transportation Plans
• § 420 and Minimum Cost Requirement.
• § 414(q) Highly Compensated Employee Definition
• § 415 and Benefit/Contribution Limitations.

Click here to read the details.

IRS Representatives Report At ECFC Conference

During the ECFC Conference (August 19), Harry Beker and Elizabeth Purcell from the IRS Associate Chief Counsel Office filled attendees in on upcoming IRS projects. These include:

• Guidance on § 125 and FSA grace geriod
• Debit card guidance
• Proposed cafeteria plan regulatory project
• New regulations concerning the dependent child care credit which will affect DCAPS
• Guidance on the WFTRA change in dependent definition
• Guidance addressing payment of transit and parking expenses by electronic payment cards

Click here to read the details.

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LEGAL DISCLAIMER: Material contained in this newsletter is not legal advice, and should not be construed as legal advice. If you need legal advice upon which you can rely, you must seek a legal opinion from your attorney.

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© DataPath, Inc. 2005