QUESTION: Everyone in the employee benefits field uses acronyms like CDHC, EAP, and VEBA. What do these and other employee benefit acronyms stand for?
ANSWER: Here’s an explanatory list of common acronyms primarily used in our Cafeteria Plans, Consumer-Driven Health Care, ERISA Compliance, Self-Insured Health Plans, and Fringe Benefits manuals. (Next week’s Question of the Week will address acronyms primarily used in our COBRA, HIPAA, and Group Health Plan Mandates manuals, and the following week, we’ll cover acronyms used in our Health Care Reform manual.)
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AD&D Plan – Accidental Death and Dismemberment Plan
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AHP – Association Health Plan
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ASG – Affiliated Service Group
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ASO – Administrative-Services-Only
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ATIN – Adoption Taxpayer Identification Number
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CDHC – Consumer-Driven Health Care
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COB – Coordination of Benefits
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COLA – Cost-of-Living Adjustment
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CONUS – Continental United States
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DCAP – Dependent Care Assistance Program
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DCTC – Dependent Care Tax Credit
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DFVC Program – Delinquent Filer Voluntary Compliance Program
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DOL – Department of Labor
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EIN – Employer Identification Number
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EAP – Employee Assistance Plan
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EBHRA – Excepted Benefit HRA
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EBSA – Employee Benefits Security Administration
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EFAST2 – ERISA Filing Acceptance System II (electronic submission of Form 5500s)
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EOB – Explanation of Benefits
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EOI – Evidence of Insurability
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EPP – Employer Payment Plan
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ERISA – Employee Retirement Income Security Act
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FAVR – Fixed and Variable Rate
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FICA – Federal Insurance Contributions Act
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FITW -Federal Income Tax Withholding
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FLSA – Fair Labor Standards Act
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FSA – Flexible Spending Arrangement
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FUTA – Federal Unemployment Tax Act
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GHP – Group Health Plan
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GTL Insurance – Group Term Life Insurance
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HCE – Highly Compensated Employee
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HCI – Highly Compensated Individual
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HCP – Highly Compensated Participant
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HDHC – High-Deductible Health Coverage
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HDHP – High-Deductible Health Plan
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Health FSA – Health Flexible Spending Arrangement
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HMO – Health Maintenance Organization
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HRA – Health Reimbursement Arrangement
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HSA – Health Savings Account
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ICHRA – Individual Coverage HRA
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IIAS – Inventory Information Approval System
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LTCI – Long-Term Care Insurance
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LTD Plan – Long-Term Disability Plan
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MACRS – Modified Accelerated Cost Recovery System
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MCC – Merchant Category Code
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MEWA – Multiple Employer Welfare Arrangement
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PBM – Pharmacy Benefit Manager
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PEO – Professional Employer Organization
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POP – Premium-Only Plan
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PPO Plan – Preferred Provider Organization Plan
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PTO – Paid Time Off
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QSEHRA – Qualified Small Employer Health Reimbursement Arrangement
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R&C – Reasonable and Customary
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RRTA – Railroad Retirement Tax Act
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SAR – Summary Annual Report
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SBC – Summary of Benefits and Coverage
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SIHP – Self-Insured Health Plan
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SLOB – Separate Line of Business
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SMM – Summary of Material Modification
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SPD – Summary Plan Description
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STLDI – Short-Term, Limited-Duration Insurance
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TPA – Third-Party Administrator
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UCR Rate – Usual, Customary, and Reasonable Rate
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VEBA – Voluntary Employees’ Beneficiary Association
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VFC Program – Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program
For simple, easy-to-understand explanations of these terms, see EBIA’s Cafeteria Plans, Consumer-Driven Health Care, ERISA Compliance, Self-Insured Health Plans, and Fringe Benefits manuals. EBIA’s Glossary is also available on Checkpoint and in print versions of each manual.
Contributing Editors: EBIA Staff.
