Now that the congressional dust has settled and the cyber smoke has cleared, it might be worth our time to take a closer look at the financial bailout bill that cleared a couple of weeks back.
A trio of benefit-related items slipped by the mainstream media amidst all the sound and fury. (Wouldn't be the first time they didn't tell the whole story.)
Most importantly, the bill — now law — extends and expands mental health parity rules. Congress even managed to pass the more sensible version of this legislation, as backed by the National Association of Health Underwriters. I'll report more on this in the December issue of the magazine.
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Additionally, Congress enacted a mandate that group health plans must continue coverage of "dependent child" college students who take a medically necessary leave of absence. The coverage should continue, under the new law, for either a year or the original plan termination date, whichever comes first.
And, finally, lawmakers decided to include a bicycle commuting reimbursement into the laundry list of qualified transportation benefits. And while the reimbursement covers the bike purchase, repair and storage, it is limited to $240 a year. And, like most "good deals," restrictions apply.
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