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April 7, 2009 |
| Here are the Web's best new links about compliance and cost aspects of plan operation, design and policy. |
BeneCom Associates, LLC (Advert.)
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[Guidance Overview] Same-Sex Marriage Legalized in Iowa and Pending in Vermont
Excerpt: "Employers throughout the country may soon experience an increase in requests for spousal benefit coverage from employees who have legally married their same-sex partners now that same-sex marriage has been legalized in Iowa and a bill to do so is pending in Vermont." (McDermott Will & Emery)
[Guidance Overview]
New Federal Laws Effect on Group Health Plans (PDF)
5 pages. Excerpt: "This bulletin provides a summary of two federal laws that will impact group health plans: The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which was signed into law on February 17, 2009, and the Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009, which was signed into law on February 4, 2009." (Thompson Hine LLP)
[Guidance Overview]
The New COBRA Rules: An Update (PDF)
19 pages. Excerpt: "ARRA-COBRA is a typical well-meaning effort from Washington which shows ZERO consideration for employers, many of whom are struggling to stay in business. Most will comply, or try to comply, but the expense and aggravation of this law and others, like the new ADA rules that essentially characterize every worker as disabled in some form or other, simply drives home an unfortunate point. Washington has too many people writing rules for the workplace, and they unwittingly have made every employee a potential liability. Only the governments and the largest employers have the resources to handle this pell-mell barrage of new laws and new regulations." (theworkplace.biz)
[Guidance Overview]
What is an 'Involuntary Termination?' Potential COBRA Disputes Lurk in IRS Definitions
Excerpt: "One issue that was not addressed in the guidance is the obligation under ARRA that employers or plan administrators seeking reimbursement of the 65 percent premium share maintain records of involuntary terminations, referred to in the statutory language as an 'attestation' of involuntary termination. Absent further guidance as to what will suffice for this record-keeping, employers and plan administrators should be certain to maintain copies of the form with the model COBRA notices called 'Request for Treatment As An Assistance-Eligible Individual,' because that form requires the person electing the subsidy to indicate his/her belief that the termination was involuntary and requires the employer to indicate its position as to whether the termination was involuntary. Maintaining a log reflecting how each termination was characterized by the employer, whether an appeal was filed, and the ultimate determination is another good idea." (Porter Wright Morris & Arthur LLP)
[Guidance Overview]
HIPAA Privacy Notice Reminder Deadline on April 14, 2009
Excerpt: "Employers that sponsor group health plans may want to consider the following when deciding how to comply with the privacy notice reminder requirement . . . ." (Dorsey & Whitney LLP)
[Guidance Overview]
COBRA Expert Offers Early Take on IRS's ARRA Guidance
Excerpt: "COBRA expert Paul M. Hamburger, P.C. summarizes the key points of new IRS guidance on the COBRA subsidy provisions under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA.) Hamburger notes that IRS Notice 2009-27 raises new or important issues to consider, including more details on what is an involuntary termination of employment." (Thompson Publishing Group)
[Guidance Overview]
COBRA Subsidy Raises Gross Misconduct Questions
Excerpt: "The COBRA premium subsidy under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) is generally available for assistance-eligible individuals who lose coverage due to an involuntary termination of employment during a certain period. Gross misconduct is not considered an involuntary termination; however, questions exist on what constitutes gross misconduct." (Thompson Publishing Group)
[Guidance Overview]
Widow's Claims Against Employer and Insurer Dismissed Because Death Benefit Was Paid According to Plan Procedures
Excerpt: "EBIA Comment: This case extends the Kennedy case's plan document rule in two ways. First, it concludes that plan administrators can ignore the facts and circumstances surrounding a beneficiary designation as well as any external documents. Second, it uses the plan document rule as a shield against breach of fiduciary duty claims. Whether other courts will adopt these extensions (particularly if the plan administrator is actually aware of circumstances that call a beneficiary designation into question), or be equally willing to apply the LaRue case to insurance benefits (which are readily distinguishable from the retirement benefits at issue in LaRue) remains to be seen." (Employee Benefits Institute of America)
[Guidance Overview]
Health Plan's Appeals Process Failure to Substantially Comply With ERISA's Claims Procedure Requirements
Excerpt: "EBIA Comment: The Fifth Circuit evaluated this claim using the substantial compliance standard, under which technical noncompliance with the DOL's claims procedure regulations is excused so long as ERISA's purpose (i.e., explaining a benefits denial to a claimant in a way that ensures 'meaningful review' of the denial) is satisfied. This is consistent with DOL statements noting that certain inadvertent deviations from a plan's claims procedures don't justify proceeding directly to court. The more difficult question is where to draw the line between inadvertent minor deviations from procedures and deviations sufficient enough (like the ones in this case) to require a remand." (Employee Benefits Institute of America)
[Guidance Overview]
CMS Update of Creditable Coverage Disclosure to CMS Form
Excerpt: "EBIA Comment: Happily, there are few changes to the Disclosure to CMS Form, and none of them are rocket science. Most seem aimed at fixing practical problems raised by how individuals were filling out the previous version of the Form." (Employee Benefits Institute of America)
[Guidance Overview]
ERISA Insurer Entitled to Offset Settlement on 2nd Medical Condition
Excerpt: "The 4th Circuit reasoned that the insurer was the fiduciary, as defined by ERISA, and had discretionary authority to interpret the plan and its terms. The court found the insurer acted reasonably in the interpretation of the plan's language. The court noted that the insurer's interpretation was consistent with the plan's design, which was to assure 'an income stream for the disabled employee during the period of disability rather than an independent benefit quantified by a specific disability.'" (Risk & Insurance)
Changes Sought for FSA Rules
Excerpt: "A new bill joins an existing measure that seeks to change the rules applying to flexible spending accounts. Introduced by Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., HR 1279 would increase contribution limits to dependent care FSAs and would allow unused amounts to carry over to the following tax year. Already on the table is HR 544, which would allow up to $500 of unused money in health FSAs to be permanently carried over to subsequent plan years." (Investment News; free registration required)
If Health Insurance Companies Ran the Postal Service...
Excerpt: "Could health insurance companies opting to get into mail delivery make the current single deliverer postal service worse? Let's speculate. . . . The Federal government would legislate that citizens leaving a group would be able to take his/her postal privileges with him for a period not to exceed 18 months. However, the health insurance company could charge any fee it desired. Advocates for a single company to organize mail delivery to everyone at a sensible rate would be branded as socialists and sent to Can.ada. However, shipment would be delayed because no one could calculate the postage." (The Kansas City Star via Physicians for a National Health Program)
Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance and the Promise of Health Insurance Reform
Excerpt: "The central role that employers play in financing health care is a distinctive feature of the U.S. health care system, and the provision of health insurance through the workplace has important implications well beyond its role as source of health care financing. In this paper, we consider the 'goodness of fit' of ESI in the current economic and health insurance environments and in light of prospects for a vigorous national debate over shape of health care reform. The main issue that we explore is whether ESI can have a viable role in health system reform efforts or whether such coverage will need to be significantly modified or even abandoned as reform seeks to address important issues in the efficient provision and equitable distribution of health insurance coverage, to create expanded health plan choices and competition in health insurance markets, and to structure incentives for the more efficient use of health services." (National Bureau of Economic Research; paid subscription or individual purchase required to retrieve fulltext)
The Cost and Coverage Impacts of a Public Health Insurance Plan: Alternative Design Options (PDF)
14 pages. Excerpt: "[I]n this paper, we present impact estimates under several variations on the public plan model. Under each variation, we assume that the public plan is implemented together with President Obama's coverage expansion proposals, which we estimate would cover about 28 million uninsured people." (The Lewin Group)
Study Raises Questions About Public Health Insurance Plan
Excerpt: "A public health insurance option for middle class families could help cover the uninsured but it may well put private insurers out of business, a respected consulting firm concluded in a study released Monday. The report by the Lewin Group, a numbers-crunching firm that serves government and private clients, said it all depends on details that lawmakers are far from deciding. Nonetheless, the report could provide ammunition for critics who say a public plan would move in the direction of government-run medicine." (AP via Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
COBRA Costs Run Higher Than in Previous Years, According to Preliminary Data in Spencer's Benefits Reports COBRA Survey
Excerpt: "So far, results indicate that COBRA costs in 2008 were almost 170% of active employee costs, noticeably higher than the 150% average of previous surveys. There is still time to add your information to this unique national survey. Survey forms are available online (visit http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/?p=WEB228QV6HWKSS to complete the survey)." (Wolters Kluwer)
Reducing Health Care Hazards: Lessons from the Commercial Aviation Safety Team (PDF)
11 pages. Excerpt: "The movement to improve quality of care and patient safety has grown, but examples of measurable and sustained progress are rare. The slow progress made in health care contrasts with the success of aviation safety. After a tragic 1995 plane crash, the aviation industry and government created the Commercial Aviation Safety Team to reduce fatal accidents. This public-private partnership of safety officials and technical experts is responsible for the decreased average rate of fatal aviation accidents. We propose a similar partnership in the health care community to coordinate national efforts and move patient safety and quality forward." (Health Affairs)
Some Employers Offer Rewards for Workers' Healthful Behavior
Excerpt: "Would you drop five pounds, or check your blood pressure regularly, in exchange for a store gift card or some frequent flier miles? If the answer is yes, check your employee handbook or health insurer's website to see if they trade perks for healthful living. A growing number of employers and insurers are dangling free carrots (or, more likely, free lattes, cash and prizes such as Wii games) in front of employees and members, hoping that a little spending up front could lead to big savings on healthcare costs." (Los Angeles Times)
Bill to Lock In Retiree Health Benefits Forever Draws Strong Opposition from Employers
Excerpt: "Rep. John Tierney (D-MA) has reintroduced legislation that would prohibit employers from changing retiree health plans after retirees have retired. The prohibition would apply even where such changes have been negotiated in collective bargaining and where health plans specifically include a general power to amend or terminate plans post-retirement. H.R. 1322, the Emergency Retiree Health Benefits Protection Act of 2009, was cosponsored by House Education & Labor Committee Chairman George Miller (D-CA) and HELP Subcommittee Chairman Rob Andrews (D-NJ). The bill would also require employers to restore health benefits previously canceled or altered to each retired participants." (HR Policy Association)
[Opinion]
A Public Plan for Health Insurance?
Excerpt: "[O]ne of the most contentious issues [in the health care reform debate] is whether to include a new public plan option to compete with private insurance plans. Many Republicans deride it as 'government-run health care' and a step toward 'socialized medicine.' Democrats find the notion appealing -- even of vital importance. A new public plan -- to offer consumers greater choice, keep the private plans honest and, one can hope, restrain the relentless growth in health care premiums and underlying medical costs -- seems worth trying." (The New York Times; free registration required)
EmployeeBenefitsJobs.com (Advert.)
EmployeeBenefitsJobs.com is where the best employers find the best candidates!
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Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
[Guidance Overview]
House Passage of Pay for Performance Act for Recipients of Direct Capital Investments under TARP and Housing and Economic Recovery Act
Excerpt: "The Act is largely a reaction to the recent public outrage surrounding large bonuses paid under existing agreements to executives and employees of Federal emergency capital investment recipient entities, and imposes compensation restrictions in addition to those already imposed under the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008 and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Under the Act, a financial institution that has received, or receives at a later date, a direct capital investment under (i) the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP) or (ii) with respect to the Federal National Mortgage Association, the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, or a Federal home loan bank, under the amendments made by Section 1117 of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, may not make a compensation payment under an existing or a new compensation arrangement to any employee that is 'unreasonable or excessive' or is not directly based on 'performance-based' measures. Longevity bonuses (undefined by the Act) and payments in the form of restricted stock are exempted from the compensation limits imposed by the Act." (Seyfarth Shaw LLP)
[Guidance Overview]
Section 409A Transition Relief May Still Be Available for 'Non-Vested' Amounts
Excerpt: "The deadline for amending most nonqualified deferred compensation arrangements to comply with Internal Revenue Code section 409A has passed. However, employers -- if they act quickly -- may still have a chance to bring certain 'non-vested' arrangements into compliance with plan document requirements. Otherwise, employers should start to focus on the penalties that must be paid as a result of documentary non-compliance." (McGuireWoods LLP)
Financially Pinched Companies Snip Employee Benefits
Excerpt: "On average, companies have sliced up to five employee-oriented spending areas, such as 401(k) matches and tuition reimbursement in the past year says Laura Sejen, global head of strategic rewards consulting at employment consultancy Watson Wyatt. Job cuts and reduced raises have been commonplace for years, but the desperate economic times have chief executives cutting areas previously considered untouchable. She and other experts say they cannot predict when -- or if -- such benefits will return: 'Do you have a crystal ball?'" (USA Today)
Webcasts and Conferences
(Click to post your webcast or conference)FWCEBC Educational Workshop
in Florida on April 23, 2009
presented by Florida West Coast Employee Benefits Council
Pension Fiduciaries in the Hot Seat - What to Avoid & How to React if Sued Webcast
Nationwide on April 14, 2009
presented by Pension Governance, LLC
Seven Benchmarks for the Future: Fine-tuning for Retirement
in Georgia on April 16, 2009
presented by WEB (Worldwide Employee Benefit Network) Atlanta Chapter
Press Releases
(Click to post your press release)Entegril Names Mike Kalsched Director of General Agency Operations
Entegril
Employee Benefits Jobs
(Click to post your job opening | View all jobs |
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Defined Contribution Relationship Consultant
for The Douglas Group
in ANY STATE
Retirement Plan Administrators
for Pension Specialists, Inc.
in CA
401(k) Recordkeeper
for Revzon Consulting Group
in MA
Retirement Plan Administrator
for Actuarial Consulting Group, Inc.
in VA
Chief of Marketing
for ASPPA - American Society of Pension Professionals and Actuaries
in DC, MD, VA
Account Manager
for Cammack LaRhette Consulting
in MA, NY
EmployeeBenefitsJobs.com (Sponsor)
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