Federal regulators have been busy recently with their own version of spring cleaning, announcing tweaks to Medicare notices, health savings account limits and a host of other proposed rules that would affect employer-sponsored health care plans.

The work started in late May when the IRS announced 2012 limits for high-deductible health plans (HDHPs) and health savings accounts (HSAs). The announcement includes figures for accounts attached to high-deductible health plans:

Annual HSA contribution limits: $3,100 for employee-only coverage (up $50 from 2011); $6,250 for family coverage (up $100 from 2011).

Minimum HDHP deductible: $1,200 for employee-only coverage and $2,400 for family coverage (no change from 2011).

Out-of-pocket maximums: $6,050 for employee-only coverage (up $100 from 2011); $12,100 for family coverage (up $200 from 2011).

Part D Notices
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) followed the IRS move with new Medicare Part D prescription drug model notices and changed the annual deadline for employers and plan sponsors to deliver those notices to plan participants. The notices inform participants about whether a plan's coverage is considered "creditable," which essentially means "the expected amount of paid claims under the entity's prescription drug coverage is at least as much as the expected amount of paid claims under the standard Medicare Part D benefits," according to April A. Goff of Warner Norcross & Judd LLP.

In addition to the updated notices, CMS changed the annual distribution deadline to Oct. 15.

Medical Records
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is taking comments on a proposed change that would expand the HIPAA Privacy disclosure rule regarding electronic health records. The rule, which amends the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (the HITECH Act), grants plan participants the right to view an access report that identifies who has viewed their electronic health information. The deadline for comments to the HHS is Aug. 1.

While the rule would create a burden for health care plans and business associates, it has an upside, according to Kate Borten of The Marblehead Group in Massachusetts.

"I think it makes good sense to add the new right to an access report," Borten told HealthLeaders Media. "Many health care organizations already provide this voluntarily, and this report, which includes insider access (use, rather than disclosure), is commonly used to identify snoopers."

The EEOC, GINA and More
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is dusting off a number of labor-related regulations and has submitted a number of proposals that could impact employers' plans.

For instance, EEOC has proposed a rule that would require employers to keep all relevant employee records until any charge filed under the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) is resolved, according to a report in Business Insurance. This requirement already exists under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and therefore would not add an additional burden to employers, the EEOC contends.

The EEOC also is seeking general comment on a slew of other regulations to determine "whether any such regulations should be modified . . . in order to make the EEOC's regulatory program more effective and/or less burdensome," according to a PLANSPONSOR report. In addition to GINA, the comments can cover (as amended) portions of the Civil Rights Act, the ADA, the Equal Pay Act of 1963, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 and the Rehabilitation Act.

The recent trend of shifting more health care and benefit costs to employees is showing no signs of letting up, according to new industry research.

A survey by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) found that 22 percent of employers had medical deductibles of at least $1,000 this year for in-network services for their most popular plans, according to a report in Business Insurance, compared with just 8 percent in 2008. Twice as many employers (44 percent) imposed that deductible level on out-of-network services this year, the survey found.

"The biggest change in the past two years has been the increase in cost sharing with employees," said Michael Thompson, a PwC principal. "Employers have been careful not to shift premium costs to employees, but have decided that the better way to shift costs is to require those who use health care services to pay more."

A separate report by Milliman also points to an increase in cost sharing in PPO family plans. According to Healthcare Town Hall, a website sponsored by Milliman, the survey found that the average premium cost of those plans this year increased $1,319, or 7.3 percent.  Of the total cost increase, employers paid $641, while workers picked up the rest, totaling an increase of $275 in additional cost sharing and an additional $403 in payroll contributions..

Many employers, however, are searching for solutions beyond deductible increases. More employers -- especially midsize companies -- are turning to voluntary benefits to reduce their burden while still offering valuable benefits to their employees, according to a new LIMRA study. While employers traditionally have used voluntary benefits as a morale booster, nearly 80 percent of polled employers said they are most interested in voluntary worksite benefits because they bring no direct costs to their business, an online PLANSPONSOR news report noted. Two-thirds said they offer such benefits because it boosts their overall benefits package and allows workers to receive services cheaper than if they tried to buy coverage in the marketplace.

Although the trend of cost sharing is growing, U.S. workers are starting to see improvements in their overall compensation, which is creeping back toward pre-recession levels, according to a recent Buck Consultants survey published on the Society for Human Resource Management's website. Only 9 percent of polled employers still have a pay freeze in place - down from 48 percent in mid-2010. More companies also are restarting bonus programs in an effort to retain top talent, the survey said.

Rising health care costs and a sluggish economy can tie up employers' hands when trying to craft benefit packages to retain good workers and lure top job candidates. More companies, however, are loosening those financial chains with workplace flexibility.

After a rough recession that saw companies shrink the ranks, more employers are exploring telecommuting, flexible work hours and other accommodations to ease the stress of an overworked workforce and attract new employees, said Kyra Cavanaugh, president of Life Meets Work, a workplace flexibility consultant.

"Employees are maxed out," Cavanaugh told MarketWatch. "[Companies] just can't get any more productivity out of employees coming out of the recession, and they are starting to leave their workplace. People are fed up. Market forces are making flexibility a more strategic alternative to some of the other way that companies used to manage growth."

Karol Rose, a principal at FlexPaths, another flex-work consultancy, told MarketWatch that companies recognize that workplace flexibility -- especially telecommuting -- can serve business needs beyond boosting morale and recruitment.

"More and more [companies] are realizing cost savings," Rose said. "It's not necessarily a company going from bricks and mortar 100 percent to 100 percent remote working. The key with flexibility from a cost and function perspective for employees and managers is to make sure it works for both parties."

The telecommuting trend has been growing over the past several years, according to a report by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). In 2009, there were 2.9 million employees who mostly worked from home -- an increase of 61 percent over 2005, Kate Lister, principal consultant of the Telework Research Network, told SHRM. Other experts place the total figure of workers who telecommute at least some of the time closer to 33.7 million.

While telecommuting can serve as an inexpensive perk, it's not the perfect solution for every company, experts say.

For instance, if a worker telecommutes only a few times a week, the employer still ends up with the same rent and utility bills, said Jack Phillips, chairman of the ROI Institute. "You can really save tons of money, but you've got to have the real estate savings," Phillips told SHRM.

In addition, managers and even staff might not welcome some flex-work arrangements. A new study by WorldatWork and WFD Consulting found that managers were reluctant to support such policies because they worried that employees might overuse or abuse them. Employees, on the other hand, are hesitant to take advantage of the programs because they worry it will reflect poorly on their work ethic, WorldatWork's Kathleen Lingle told Employee Benefit News.