[Health Insurance] 55, COBRA Qualifying Events and Election Timelines

[Health Insurance] 61, Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act

This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. In this episode you will learn: - MHPAEA requires parity for financial requirements and treatment limitations between mental health/substance use disorder benefits and medical/surgical benefits. - The 2026 'Meaningful Benefits Standard' mandates that plans cover core mental health and substance use disorder treatments in every classification where medical benefits are offered. - Non-Quantitative Treatment Limitations (NQTLs), like prior authorization, cannot be applied more stringently to mental health benefits than to medical benefits. - A key exam trap is misunderstanding that MHPAEA mandates parity in limitations, not that it forces plans to offer mental health benefits in the first place. - The Act generally applies to group health plans with more than 50 employees, a detail often used in scenario-based exam questions. For more free exam prep tools, practice questions, and AI-powered explanations, visit https://open-exam-prep.com/ or YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Open-exam-prep

[Health Insurance] 60, Flexible Spending Accounts and Health Reimbursement Arrangements

This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. In this episode you will learn: - Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs) are employee-funded, subject to a "use-it-or-lose-it" rule, with a 2026 maximum carryover of $680. - Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRAs) are exclusively funded by the employer, and unused funds typically roll over without a limit. - A key exam distinction is ownership: FSAs and HRAs are employer-owned, while Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) are employee-owned and portable. - For 2026, the Health FSA contribution limit is $3,400, and the Dependent Care FSA limit is $7,500 per household. - Unlike HSAs, neither FSAs nor HRAs require an individual to be enrolled in a High-Deductible Health Plan (HDHP). For more free exam prep tools, practice questions, and AI-powered explanations, visit https://open-exam-prep.com/ or YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Open-exam-prep

[Health Insurance] 59, Health Savings Accounts HSAs

This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. In this episode you will learn: - HSA eligibility requires enrollment in a qualified High-Deductible Health Plan (HDHP) and not being enrolled in Medicare. - HSAs feature a powerful triple-tax advantage: tax-deductible contributions, tax-free growth, and tax-free withdrawals for qualified medical expenses. - The 2026 HSA contribution limits are $4,400 for self-only coverage and $8,750 for family coverage, with an additional $1,000 catch-up contribution for individuals 55 and older. - A critical exam trap is the 20% penalty plus income tax applied to non-qualified withdrawals for individuals under age 65. - A new rule allows individuals with certain Direct Primary Care (DPC) arrangements to remain eligible for an HSA, creating a new testable exception. For more free exam prep tools, practice questions, and AI-powered explanations, visit https://open-exam-prep.com/ or YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Open-exam-prep

[Health Insurance] 58, Section 125 Cafeteria Plans

This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. In this episode you will learn: - Section 125 plans let employees pay for qualified benefits with pre-tax dollars, lowering their taxable income. - The core choice in a cafeteria plan is between receiving taxable cash salary or non-taxable benefits. - Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs) are governed by the strict "use-it-or-lose-it" rule where unused funds are forfeited. - A plan may offer a limited exception to the FSA forfeiture rule: either a grace period or a small rollover, but never both. - Eligibility is a key exam trap; self-employed individuals and partners are generally ineligible to participate. For more free exam prep tools, practice questions, and AI-powered explanations, visit https://open-exam-prep.com/ or YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Open-exam-prep

[Health Insurance] 57, ERISA Federal Regulation of Employee Benefits

This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. In this episode you will learn: - That a fiduciary's primary duty under ERISA is to act solely in the interest of plan participants and beneficiaries. - Key details about the Summary Plan Description (SPD), including that it must be provided automatically to new participants within 90 days of coverage. - The distinction between fully insured and self-insured plans regarding ERISA's preemption of state insurance laws. - The required timelines for deciding claim appeals, such as within 72 hours for urgent care claims. - That ERISA establishes a formal grievance and appeals process that must be exhausted before legal action can be taken in federal court.