Health & Welfare Plans Newsletter |
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| September 2, 2009 \ Compliance \ Costs \ Administration \ Design \ Policy | ||
Employee Benefits Institute of America (EBIA) (Advert.)
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[Guidance Overview]
New York State Insurance Law Changes Extend Continuation Coverage and Dependent Coverage Under Insured Medical Plans
Excerpt: "New York State Governor David Paterson recently signed legislation that will affect the administration of insured medical plans in New York State. The legislation generally extends the period that terminated employees may elect continuation coverage under an insured plan from 18 months to 36 months and requires medical insurers to offer continued coverage to employees' unmarried children through age 29, regardless of financial dependence." (Bond, Schoeneck & King, PLLC)
[Guidance Overview]
Mental Health Parity: Are Separate Deductibles and Out-of-Pocket Maximums Allowed?
Excerpt: "Facing the challenge of complying with the new mental health parity requirements that become effective for plan years beginning after October 3, 2009, employers and their advisers are asking whether separate deductibles and out-of-pocket maximums are allowed for mental health and substance abuse disorder benefits. As we await official guidance, the law is less than clear." (Deloitte via BenefitsLink.com)
[Guidance Overview]
Overview of the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity
Excerpt: "The Wellstone/Domenici Act does not require a plan to cover mental health and/or substance abuse disorder benefits. However, if the plan covers such benefits, then it may not impose more restrictive financial requirements (cost-sharing) and treatment limitations (number of visits or days of coverage) on mental health and substance abuse disorder benefits than the predominant financial and treatment requirements applicable to all medical/surgical benefits." (ERISAdiagnostics Inc.)
[Guidance Overview]
Oregon Enacts Military Spouse Leave Law
Excerpt: "Oregon employers must allow employees to take up to 14 days of unpaid, job-protected leave for a spouse's deployment to and/or leave from active military duty under the newly enacted Oregon Military Family Leave Act. The law, which took effect June 25, applies to employers with 25 or more employees in the state, including public employers. An employee qualifies for the leave if he or she works an average of at least 20 hours per week and his or her spouse, during a military conflict, has received notice of an impending call or order to active duty, or has been deployed and has received notice of leave." (Mercer LLC)
Fact Sheet on Health Insurance Plans' Coverage of H1N1 and Seasonal Flu Shots (PDF)
1 page. Excerpt: "The approach of the seasonal flu season and warnings about an H1N1 (swine) flu pandemic have raised the questions: Does employment-based health coverage typically include flu shots? Will insurers cover H1N1 shots when they become available?" (Employee Benefit Research Institute)
Recession Has Stalled Employer Offerings of Child Care
Excerpt: "Nevertheless, big employers in some industries, including pharma.ceuticals, movie studios and hospitals, continue to expand such offerings, says a spokeswoman for Bright Horizons Family Solutions, a provider of employer-sponsored child-care programs. Many employers that offer child-care help want to be seen as 'an employer of choice.'" (The Wall Street Journal)
Wal-Mart Adds More Employers to Its Retail Pharmacy Fulfillment Program
Excerpt: "Mike Struhs, director of business development at Wal-Mart Health and Wellness, tells DBN that the new employer clients are a 'variety of sizes in different parts of the company,' although he declines to name specific companies. The Wal-Mart Health Solutions Affordable Prescription Program is aimed at 'providing [pharmacy] pricing directly to the payers, whether that be self-insured employers or health plans.' He declines to say whether any of the new clients are health plans." (AISHealth.com)
2010 Medicare Part D Retiree Drug Subsidy Application Deadline Is Coming Soon
Excerpt: "Sponsors of calendar-year retiree medical plans must submit applications by Oct. 2 to obtain the Medicare Part D retiree drug subsidy (RDS) during 2010. RDS applications with valid initial retiree lists are due 90 days before a plan year begins, although sponsors can request an automatic 30-day extension. Even sponsors that previously received the subsidy must reapply each year. This year, attesting actuaries also must register anew, supplying birth dates and Social Security numbers as well as their American Academy of Actuaries membership numbers." (Mercer LLC)
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Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
[Guidance Overview]DOL Scrutinizes ERISA Plan Audits (PDF)
2 pages. Excerpt: "Do you sponsor any employee benefit plans that are required to be audited on annual basis? If yes, you should be aware that the DOL is targeting certain auditors and is seeking penalties from the plan administrator (typically, the employer) of up to $1,100 per day, or $50,000 per annual report, when it believes that the audit work is deficient. There are a number of due diligence steps you can take in an effort to comply with ERISA responsibilities, and to reduce exposure in this area." (Porter Wright Morris & Arthur LLP)
IRS Memo Considers Backdated Stock Options Under 162(m)
Excerpt: "A recent IRS internal memo on backdated and misdated nonqualified stock options discusses how to determine the grant date when assessing whether options were discounted under Section 162(m). Besides analyzing the use of related accounting and tax standards to define the grant date, the memo concludes that discounted options can never qualify for exemption from 162(m)'s $1 million cap on deductible compensation. This disqualification applies even if the employee reimburses the discount or the option exercise price is reset to eliminate the discount. Some practitioners are criticizing the memo." (Mercer LLC)
Companies Handing Out Cash to Needy Workers
Excerpt: "Disbursing funds for emergencies, or letting workers trade vacation time for cash, are among practices lauded in a new report by the Families and Work Institute, a New York nonprofit. At 1-800 Contacts, a Salt Lake City, Utah, contact-lens vendor with 850 employees, an 'associate outreach fund' offers emergency funds to employees in crisis. The company helped one worker make mortgage payments after a spouse was laid off; another payout helped an employee strapped by two surgeries and four months' missed work. Other disbursements covered emergency medical treatment for an employee's child, and cancer treatment for a spouse, says Max Neves, vice president, administration." (The Wall Street Journal)
Congressional Research Service Report on Insurance Regulation: Issues, Background and Legislation in the 111th Congress (PDF)
16 pages. Excerpt: "The individual states have been acknowledged as the primary regulators of insurance as far back as 1868. Since the 1945 McCarran-Ferguson Act, this system has operated with the specific blessing of Congress, but has also been subject to periodic scrutiny and suggestions that the time may have come for Congress to take back the regulatory authority that it granted to the states. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, congressional scrutiny was largely driven by the increasing complexities of the insurance business and concern over whether the states were up to the task of ensuring consumer protections, particularly insurer solvency. . . . Although the financial crisis has changed the focus of the debate surrounding insurance regulatory reform, many of the pre-crisis pressures for regulatory changes continue. Narrower bills addressing insurance regulation and regulatory requirements have been introduced in the 111th Congress. These include H.R. 1583, H.R. 2554, H.R. 2571/S. 1363, H.R. 2609, and H.R. 3126. None of these have been considered on the floor of the House or the Senate in this Congress." (U.S. Congressional Research Service)
Webcasts and Conferences
2009 Fall Forum: Boston, MAin Massachusetts on October 19, 2009
presented by Ascensus
2009 Fall Forum: Chicago IL
in Illinois on September 21, 2009
presented by Ascensus
2009 Fall Forum: San Diego, CA
in California on November 9, 2009
presented by Ascensus
2009 Fall Forum: Tampa, FL
in Florida on October 5, 2009
presented by Ascensus
2009 Web/Telephone Seminar: Advanced HSAs
Nationwide on October 13, 2009
presented by Ascensus
2009 Web/Telephone Seminar: Basic IRAs
Nationwide on October 1, 2009
presented by Ascensus
2009 Web/Telephone Seminar: Individual (k) Plans
Nationwide on October 6, 2009
presented by Ascensus
2009 Web/Telephone Seminar: IRA Excess Contributions
Nationwide on October 1, 2009
presented by Ascensus
2009 Web/Telephone Seminar: Withholding
Nationwide on October 8, 2009
presented by Ascensus
COBRA Workshop
in California on October 15, 2009
presented by U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)
COBRA/ARRA Workshop
in California on October 16, 2009
presented by U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)
(Click to post your webcast or conference)
Press Releases
U.S. Labor Department Sues to Appoint Independent Fiduciary for 401(k) Plan Abandoned by Melville, New York, EmployerU.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)
U.S. Labor Department Sues to Recover Assets for SIMPLE IRA Plan Sponsored by Coshocton, Ohio-based Company
U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)
ERIC's New Benefit Platform Featured in GAO Report on Alternative Approaches to Current U.S. Pension System
ERIC (ERISA Industry Committee)
BeneTrac, HSA Bank Make It Easier to Enroll in Health Savings Accounts
BeneTrac
Auto Enrollment Adoption at Ascensus Surpasses 1,000 Plans
Ascensus
401k Ratings Firm BrightScope Secures $2 Million in Series B Funding
BrightScope
FinanceAnswers Launches Website Which Profiles and Rates Every Financial Advisor
FinanceAnswers, Inc
(Click to post your press release)
Employee Benefits Jobs
DC/401(k) Plan Administratorfor Shore Tompkins Actuarial Resources, LLC
in IL
401(k) Daily Valuation Recordkeeper
for Papalia Retirement Plan Services, Inc.
in PA
Contract Plan Administrator
for The Allocation Company, Inc.
in TX
401k Plan Administrator in Northern Virginia
for TPA firm in Northern Virginia
in VA
Retirement Plan Administrator
for Law Offices of R. David Danziger
in PA
Manager of Strategy Analysis & Development
for Prudential Financial
in CT
(Click to post your job opening | View all jobs |
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EmployeeBenefitsJobs.com (Sponsor)
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Handy Links:
- View Today's Active Message Threads
- Using the Web for Employee Benefits Research (hypertext article)
- Employee Benefits Library
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