Contributions by employer to accident and health plans

Except as otherwise provided in this section, gross income of an employee does not include employer-provided coverage under an accident or health plan. In the case of an employee who is an eligible individual, amounts contributed by such employee’s employer to any Archer MSA of such employee shall be treated as employer-provided coverage for medical expenses under an accident or health plan to the extent such amounts do not exceed the limitation under section 220(b)(1) (determined without regard to this subsection) which is applicable to such employee for such taxable year. No amount shall be included in the gross income of any employee solely because the employee may choose between the contributions referred to in paragraph (1) and employer contributions to another health plan of the employer. Any employer contribution to an Archer MSA, if otherwise allowable as a deduction under this chapter, shall be allowed only for the taxable year in which paid. Every individual required to file a return under section 6012 for the taxable year shall include on such return the aggregate amount contributed by employers to the Archer MSAs of such individual or such individual’s spouse for such taxable year. Paragraph (1) shall not apply for purposes of section 4980B. For purposes of this subsection, the terms “eligible individual” and “Archer MSA” have the respective meanings given to such terms by section 220. For penalty on failure by employer to make comparable contributions to the Archer MSAs of comparable employees, see section 4980E. Gross income of an employee shall include employer-provided coverage for qualified long-term care services (as defined in section 7702B(c)) to the extent that such coverage is provided through a flexible spending or similar arrangement. For purposes of this subsection, a flexible spending arrangement is a benefit program which provides employees with coverage under which— In the case of an employee who is an eligible individual (as defined in section 223(c)(1)), amounts contributed by such employee’s employer to any health savings account (as defined in section 223(d)) of such employee shall be treated as employer-provided coverage for medical expenses under an accident or health plan to the extent such amounts do not exceed the limitation under section 223(b) (determined without regard to this subsection) which is applicable to such employee for such taxable year. Rules similar to the rules of paragraphs (2), (3), (4), and (5) of subsection (b) shall apply for purposes of this subsection. For penalty on failure by employer to make comparable contributions to the health savings accounts of comparable employees, see section 4980G. A plan shall not fail to be treated as a health flexible spending arrangement or health reimbursement arrangement under this section or section 105 merely because such plan provides for a qualified HSA distribution. The term “qualified HSA distribution” means a distribution from a health flexible spending arrangement or health reimbursement arrangement to the extent that such distribution— If, at any time during the testing period, the employee is not an eligible individual, then the amount of the qualified HSA distribution— Clauses (i) and (ii) of subparagraph (A) shall not apply if the employee ceases to be an eligible individual by reason of the death of the employee or the employee becoming disabled (within the meaning of section 72(m)(7)). For purposes of this subsection— The term “testing period” means the period beginning with the month in which the qualified HSA distribution is contributed to the health savings account and ending on the last day of the 12th month following such month. The term “eligible individual” has the meaning given such term by section 223(c)(1). A qualified HSA distribution shall be treated as a rollover contribution described in section 223(f)(5). For purposes of this title— A qualified HSA distribution shall be treated as a payment described in subsection (d). Except as provided in clause (ii), section 4980G shall not apply to qualified HSA distributions. In the case of a qualified HSA distribution to any employee, the failure to offer such distribution to any eligible individual covered under a high deductible health plan of the employer shall (notwithstanding section 4980G(d)) be treated for purposes of section 4980G as a failure to meet the requirements of section 4980G(b). For purposes of this section and section 105, expenses incurred for menstrual care products (as defined in section 223(d)(2)(D)) shall be treated as incurred for medical care. For purposes of this section and section 105, payments or reimbursements from a qualified small employer health reimbursement arrangement (as defined in section 9831(d)) of an individual for medical care (as defined in section 213(d)) shall not be treated as paid or reimbursed under employer-provided coverage for medical expenses under an accident or health plan if for the month in which such medical care is provided the individual does not have minimum essential coverage (within the meaning of section 5000A(f)).