Health & Welfare Plans Newsletter |
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| December 7, 2009 \ Compliance \ Costs \ Administration \ Design \ Policy | ||
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[Guidance Overview]
No Premium Subsidy for Qualified Beneficiaries Eligible for COBRA on or After January 1, 2010
Excerpt: "EBIA Comment: The answers to [DOL's COBRA] FAQs note that legislation pending in Congress to extend the premium assistance rules could change the answers to these questions. Even though the exact timing and terms remain uncertain, employers should be prepared for an extension as Congress seems poised to pass one. Until such an extension occurs, these FAQs may surprise employees terminated in December but covered by health plans that extend 'active' coverage until the end of the month. Under the DOL's interpretation of the current rules, those employees will miss out on premium assistance for themselves (and their family members) by one day because they will not technically become eligible for COBRA until January 1, 2010 (the day after they lose active coverage)." (Employee Benefits Institute of America)
[Guidance Overview]
Decrease of 7.5 Cents in 2010 Mileage Rate for Transportation to Obtain Medical Care or as Part of Deductible Moving Expenses
Excerpt: "EBIA Comment: Transportation expenses that are deductible medical expenses under Code Section 213 generally form the basis for tax-free transportation benefits under a health FSA, HRA, or HSA. To simplify administration, some employers' health FSAs or HRAs exclude medical transportation expenses from the list of reimbursable items; if not excluded, such expenses may be reimbursed by health FSAs or HRAs at the 16.5 cents per mile rate for 2010. HSA account holders can also choose to use the standard mileage rate to calculate the tax-free distribution that they can take for medical transportation expenses that meet the Code Section 213 definition of medical care. But remember, the new rate doesn't apply until 2010." (Employee Benefits Institute of America)
[Guidance Overview]
IRS's 2009 Version of Pub. 502 on Medical and Dental Expenses
Excerpt: "EBIA Comment: Pub. 502 provides valuable guidance on what qualifies as a medical expense under Code Section 213(d), and thus, certain information about which expenses can be reimbursed or paid by health FSAs, HSAs, or HRAs. However, using Pub. 502 to determine what expenses are reimbursable under these tax-favored vehicles must be done with caution, because Pub. 502 addresses only what expenses are deductible -- -it doesn't describe the different rules for reimbursing medical expenses under health FSAs, HSAs, or HRAs." (Employee Benefits Institute of America)
HHS 'Fact Sheet' on Benefits of Healthcare Reform for U.S. Businesses
Excerpt: "A new analysis by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) affirms that businesses' health insurance costs will be lower under health insurance reform -- even though the analysis does not take into account the full range of policies that will benefit businesses." (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services)
Minimal Premium Changes in Employer Plans Because of Health Reform, Says CBO
Excerpt: "Although employer group health plans represent 83% of the health insurance market, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and the Joint Committee on Taxation estimate that the provisions of the health reform proposal being considered in the Senate would 'have much smaller effects on premiums for employment-based coverage' than for nongroup coverage. On November 30, the CBO released an analysis of how premiums might be affected by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (H.R. 3590), including premiums for coverage purchased individually, coverage purchased by small employers, and coverage provided by large employers." (Wolters Kluwer)
[Opinion]
An Internal Revolt at the Business Roundtable Over Support for ObamaCare
Excerpt: "One lesson that Democrats learned from the failure of HillaryCare in 1994 is that they had to buy the silence, if not the outright support, of the business class. They've done this brilliantly by peddling the illusion that ObamaCare will 'lower costs' for employers. But slowly as the legislative details become clear, it is dawning on executives of businesses large and small that reform is boiling down to a huge tax increase to finance a gigantic new entitlement. The cost and quality of care are afterthoughts that will both suffer, as a growing roll of medical experts have been writing on these pages. The tragedy is that ObamaCare is not inevitable and far better reforms are still possible -- but only if the current version is defeated and Democrats are forced back to the drawing board." (The Wall Street Journal)
[Opinion]
Team of Ten's Goal: A Not-Quite-Public Plan
Excerpt: "Wanted: A health insurance plan that seems to be government-run but is not actually government-run. That makes voters feel like they are getting the same V.I.P. treatment as United States senators and representatives (who by law are actually not supposed to get any real V.I.P. treatment.) That gives beneficiaries a menu of choices while establishing strict standards for the benefits provided and maintaining overall premium costs within fairly tight limits." (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
[Opinion]Philadelphia, PA, Reaping Benefits of Reform, But Must Think Many Years Ahead
Michael Nutter, mayor of Philadelphia. Excerpt: "Where [is Philadelphia] headed? We must and will come to grips with the budget-destabilizing increases in employee health care and pension costs. We've proposed to the four municipal unions a plan fair to employees and taxpayers - a hybrid pension plan for new employees that will save the city millions of dollars and ensure the health of our pension fund. On health care, we've offered a self-insurance plan to the unions and have already implemented the cost-saving plan on behalf of 5,000 employees in the city-administered health plan." (The Philadelphia Inquirer)
Webcasts and Conferences
Health and Welfare Roundup 2009: Checklist of New Compliance RequirementsNationwide on December 3, 2009
presented by EBIA / Thomson Reuters
HIPAA & Other Health Benefits Laws: Compliance Assistance Seminar
in Nevada on March 16, 2010
presented by U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)
Medicare A - Z with Craig J. Davidson, CEBS and the FutureOffice Network
Nationwide on January 19, 2010
presented by FutureOffice Network
(Click to post your webcast or conference)
Press Releases
PBGC Looks at Future of Defined Benefit Plans at National Press Club Forum; Honors Robert E. Nagle for Contribution to Retirement SecurityPension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC)
Sebelius Statement on Benefits of Health Insurance Reform for Businesses
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
Phoenix Based Sunwest Pensions Expands Services and Launches New Company
Sunwest Pensions
Second Edition of Best-Selling Retirement Income Book
W.E. Griffith & Associates, LLC
(Click to post your press release)
Employee Benefits Jobs
Pension Administratorfor Northern & Central NJ Mid-Size Pension Consulting Firm
in NJ
401(k)/DC Plan Administrator
for HPnorthwest
in OR
Training Specialist
for New York Life Retirement Plan Services
in MA
(Click to post your job opening | View all jobs |
RSS feed of all jobs )
EmployeeBenefitsJobs.com (Sponsor)
(Click on banner to learn more.)
| Where the best employers find the best candidates! |
Handy Links:
- View Today's Active Message Threads
- Using the Web for Employee Benefits Research (hypertext article)
- Employee Benefits Library
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