Health & Welfare Plans Newsletter

November 24, 2015

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Employee Benefits Jobs

Compliance Consultant
Corporate Synergies Group, LLC
in NJ

Sr. Account Specialist
Corporate Synergies Group, LLC
in MD

Relius Software Specialist
SunGard Relius
in FL

IRT Relationship Manager 3
Wells Fargo
in VA

401(k) Plan Administrator
Retirement Systems of Arizona, Inc.
in AZ

Experienced Pension Administrator
KB Pension Services, Inc.
in FL

Client Services Representative - Retirement Services
MassMutual Financial Group
in MA

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Webcasts and Conferences

Staying Ahead of the Curve: Interview with Dr. Shlomo Benartzi, Part I - Save More Tomorrow Insights and Accumulation
RECORDED
(Cammack Retirement Group)

Staying Ahead of the Curve: Interview with Dr. Shlomo Benartzi, Part II - The Decumulation Challenge
RECORDED
(Cammack Retirement Group)

Institute for Apprenticeship, Training and Education Programs
January 18, 2016 in CA
(International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans [IFEBP])

Worksite Wellness Certification Programs
January 19, 2016 in FL
(National Wellness Institute)

Health Benefits Conference & Expo (HBCE)
January 25, 2016 in FL
(International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans [IFEBP])

View All Webcasts and Conferences


Discussions


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[Guidance Overview]

IRS Health Care Tax Tip 2015-77: Understanding the Different Types of 2015 Transition Relief under the Employer Shared Responsibility Provisions
"The employer shared responsibility provisions were first effective on January 1, 2015, but transition relief from certain requirements is available for 2015 ... ALEs with fewer than 100 full-time employees, including full-time equivalent employees, won't be assessed an employer shared responsibility payment for 2015 ... ALEs are not required to offer coverage to full-time employees' dependents for the 2015 plan year, provided that they meet certain conditions ... [If] an ALE does not offer minimum essential coverage to at least 95 percent of its full-time employees and their dependents, it may owe an employer shared responsibility payment ... For 2015, 70 percent is substituted for 95 percent." (Internal Revenue Service [IRS])  

[Guidance Overview]

District of Columbia Employers Must Provide Transportation Benefit Programs by the New Year
"All covered employers must provide at least one of the following transportation benefit programs to employees: [1] A benefit program that allows employees to make a monthly pre-tax election to pay for commuter highway vehicle, transit, or bicycling benefits ... [2] An employer-paid benefit program whereby the employer supplies, at the election of the employee, a transit pass for the public transit system requested by each employee or reimbursement of vanpooling or bicycling costs ... or [3] Employer-provided transportation at no cost to the covered employee in a vanpool or bus operated by or for the employer." (Littler)  

FSA Rollover to Retirement Plan Proposal Introduced
"Under the measure, H.R. 4067, introduced by Rep. Ron Kind, D-Wis., employees could shift unused FSA funds -- $250 or the account balance, whichever is less -- to a retirement plan." (Business Insurance; free registration required)  

Second Circuit Says Healthcare Providers Must Seek Relief from Insurance Companies Under Their Own Contracts, Not the Insureds' Contracts
"The fact that Cigna provided for the possibility of direct reimbursement of medical providers under the Benefit Plan did not make the providers beneficiaries ... This conclusion was supported by the assignments signed by Rojas patients because if Rojas had a right to direct payment, the assignments would not have been necessary.... The assignments only gave Rojas the right to pursue the patients' claims for payment, but did not include the right to pursue any other category of ERISA claims. Therefore, the patients did not assign a right to sue under ERISA's anti-retaliation provision ... under which Rojas sought relief." [Rojas v. Cigna Health and Life Ins. Co., No. 14-3455 (2d Cir. Jul. 15, 2015] (Wilson Elser)  

Technology Outsourcing on the Rise Among Health Insurers
"The healthcare payer IT outsourcing market is expected to grow more than 40 percent in the next two years ... That's because better software solutions have accelerated expenses faster than originally anticipated, and there has not been any corresponding increase in revenue for many health plans. Still, less than 10 percent of health executives surveyed have considered solutions that lie outside of the U.S., because of 'concerns over hostile offshore locations and escalating health data security and privacy issues.' " (FierceHealthPayer)  


[Advert.]

Controlling Health Care Costs With Self-Funded Plan Options

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December 14 webinar - Factors that may motivate employers to self-insure; how self-insurance influences benefit design, benefit claims decisions, and financial exposure; and practical tips for decision-making. BenefitsLink discount.



National Health Care Spending 1960-2013
"[This article] discusses some of the major factors that have influenced health spending over the last five decades. Variations in health care prices, in the utilization of goods and services, and in the programs and resources that pay for care have had a substantial impact on national health expenditure trends. Going forward, these factors are anticipated to continue to affect health care spending." (Health Affairs)  

Changes in Medicare Spending Per Beneficiary by Age, 1999-2012 (PDF)
47 pages. "Over the entire period, the average annual growth rate of Medicare spending per beneficiary for people ages 65 to 74 was about half of that for those ages 85 to 94. Faster decline in the use of acute inpatient hospital care among younger beneficiaries than among older beneficiaries contributed to the slower growth of spending per beneficiary for the 65- to 74-year-old age group. More rapid growth in spending on care provided in skilled nursing facilities and hospice care ... than in spending on other Medicare services contributed to the faster growth in spending per beneficiary among the older groups; that growth also accounted for the increase in the age for which Medicare spending per beneficiary was highest." [CBO Working Paper 2015-08.] (Congressional Budget Office [CBO])  

The 'Bundled Payments for Care Improvement' Initiative: Results to Date
"The Bundled Payments for Care Improvement (BPCI) initiative tests four different models based on episodes of care that involve an inpatient hospital stay.... To encourage providers to furnish care in a more efficient and coordinated manner, CMS is expanding the number and scope of services bundled together for payment.... CMS is also experimenting with payment bundles that include care furnished by different providers during a single episode of care.... The ultimate aim of the BPCI initiative is to not just change how Medicare pays for services but to prompt changes in how health care is delivered in the United States." (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation)  

What Happens If the ACA's Tax Credits Are Replaced with Premium Support?
"As policymakers consider alternatives to reduce the federal government's financial burden from providing subsidies under the ACA, they should consider the consequences for enrollees.... [A]lthough existing premium-support models yield considerable savings for the federal government, they could create age and income disparities in coverage. Refinements to premium-support approaches, such as increasing the amount of the tax credit with age and allowing individuals with incomes up to 400 percent of the federal poverty level to receive tax credits, could moderate some of these concerns." (The Commonwealth Fund)  

[Opinion]

'Growth Clouds' on the Horizon for Health Spending?
"Increasing incomes and new medical technology have historically been the largest factors contributing to rapid health care cost growth. This trend is likely to continue and to cause higher growth rates than we have seen in the 2008-2013 period. More prudent adoption of new technology in the future, focusing on outcomes, comparative value, and cost-effectiveness, would help moderate growth rates, but it is unlikely to cure the problem of health care cost growth that exceeds economic growth." (Health Affairs)  

Benefits in General; Executive Compensation

A Flurry of Important Information from ISS
"ISS announced or released four items important to public companies for the upcoming proxy season: [1] Executive Summary of 2016 Proxy Voting Guidelines Updates; [2] Updated FAQs for application of the Equity Plan Scorecard (EPSC); [3] Opening of the window for companies to update their executive compensation benchmarking peers; and [4] Opening an Equity Plan Data Verification portal for U.S. companies receiving a proxy recommendation." (Winston & Strawn LLP)  

2014 Annual Statistical Report on the Social Security Disability Insurance Program (PDF)
194 pages. "Disability benefits were paid to just over 10.2 million people. Awards to disabled workers (778,796) accounted for 90 percent of awards to all disabled beneficiaries (869,371). In December, payments to disabled beneficiaries totaled more than $11.4 billion. Benefits were terminated for 779,229 disabled workers.... Workers accounted for the largest share of disabled beneficiaries (87.2 percent). Average age was 53. Men represented less than 52 percent." [Data tables are online in Microsoft Excel format.] (U.S. Social Security Administration [SSA])  

Press Releases

International Foundation Announces 2016 Executive Committee
International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans [IFEBP]

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