Discovery Benefits Meets with Congressional Representatives
4/26/2011
FARGO, N.D.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Cafeteria plans and flexible spending arrangements enable employees to make tax advantaged “salary reduction” contributions to benefits such as health care and child care. Over 100 Flex plan professionals recently made the trip down advocacy lane to educate Congress about the importance of this employee friendly benefit. Two of the attendees were Suzanne Rehr and John Biwer of Discovery Benefits. They recently returned from a whirlwind Flex benefit conference held annually in Washington DC by the Employers Council on Flexible Compensation (ECFC).
The annual conference is an assemblage of the highest levels of all manner of professionals that deal daily with flexible benefits and who have championed the cause to enhance pre-tax plans, their use and effectiveness for employers and their employees. Flexible benefits received a lot of attention during the Health Care Reform debate.
The ECFC urged members of the Senate and the House to maintain flexible benefits which millions of Americans rely on to get the health care services they need. Rehr said, “As a leader in the industry, we believe it is important to have our voices heard in Congress to ensure pre-tax benefits continue to be available for employers and employees. It is a privilege to represent the needs of our industry and our clients on this topic.”
The day started off with a well-received speech by Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) who stressed the importance of benefit choices for employers and their employees. She went on to discuss her legislation H.R. 791 to extend Flex plans to members of the military which was met with great enthusiasm. This was followed by a three-person panel comprised of staffs who serve on the Senate finance committee for Chairmen Max Baucus (D-MT), and Ranking member Orrin Hatch (R-UT). The panel provided some behind the scenes perspective on how policy proposals related to flex are developed, scored (for tax impact) and presented for discussion.
That afternoon the ECFC membership took to Capitol Hill. The group had 100+ meetings with Senate and House offices over the course of the day, including 25 member level meetings. Biwer and Rehr personally visited with the offices of Senators John Hoeven (R-ND) and Kent Conrad (D-ND), as well as with Representative Rick Berg (R-ND), a member of the House Ways and Means Committee.
The message shared by the ECFC membership received very positive feedback from offices on both sides of the aisle. Priority issues included elimination of the “use it or lose it rule” and the new onerous prescription requirement for over the counter drugs.
ECFC members were encouraged by the positive receptions experienced in meeting with the Hill staff. All parties were engaged and interested in the facts we presented. There was a willingness to learn about how Flex benefits are important to Americans and they help many workers budget for and afford out of pocket health care cost.
Since the conference, legislators have introduced H.R. 1004, The Medical FSA Improvement Act which would eliminate the “use it or lose it rule” by allowing a cash out of unspent balances with the funds being treated as taxable wages. ECFC and its members continue to reach out on behalf of their clients to urge their representatives to co-sponsor this legislation. Biwer said, “It is very encouraging to see the increased awareness of the importance of pre-tax benefits and the bi-partisan effort supporting this legislation. We continue to encourage employees and employers everywhere to speak up and contact their Senators and Representatives. A quick and easy way is to visit www.savemyflexplan.org, where you can send a custom or prepared message directly to your Congressional representative’s office.”
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