In 1997 and 1998, the Internal Revenue Service detailed circumstances when an employee could make changes to an annual election in a flexible spending account. Eligible events that would allow a change in annual election include a change in marital status, a change in the number of dependents, a change in a spouse's or dependent's employment status, a strike or a lockout, a leave of absence under the Family and Medical Leave Act, a change employment status (same as above), a change in a dependent's eligibility status, a significant change in the costs for or coverage by an employer-sponsored health plan, a change in the residence or work site of the employee or employee's spouse or dependent, the participant's failure to pay premiums, a change based on special enrollment rights under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, a court-ordered change, and entitlement to either Medicare or Medicaid.