Midyear benefits checkup: five questions worth asking before summer

A practical midyear audit list for FSA claims pacing, HSA eligibility drift, COBRA vendor SLAs, and billing recon — before open enrollment planning takes over.

Memorial Day week isn’t a regulatory deadline. It’s a useful pause before summer PTO empties every department that knows how your plans work.

Five questions

Are FSA claim denials clustering on one theme? (OTC? Warehouse clubs? Dependent care TINs?) Fix the FAQ once.
Any HDHP enrollees who also elected a general-purpose FSA? That’s an HSA eligibility landmine — catch it midyear if you can.
Is the COBRA vendor meeting notice timelines on the reports you actually read? Oversight is part of the employer’s job.
Do consolidated invoices match carrier rates after the spring renewal amendments?
Which OE materials still show 2025 numbers? Replace them before someone screenshots an old PDF.

Bonus: document the tribal knowledge

If one person knows how your HRA substantiation exceptions work, put it in a shared admin note this week. Midyear is when that person schedules a two-week vacation.

None of this is glamorous. All of it is cheaper than an October fire drill.