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Health & Welfare Plans Newsletter
December 14, 2009 
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[Official Guidance]
Text of IRS Notice 2009-95: Further Extension of Effective Date of Rules for Electronic Media to Provide Qualified Transportation Fringe Benefits (PDF)
2 pages. Excerpt: "This guidance is intended to provide relief to mass transit providers that have been unable to update their present systems in order to comply with the Revenue Ruling guidelines prior to the current effective date of January 1, 2010. The effective date of Revenue Ruling 2006-57 is further delayed until January 1, 2011." (Internal Revenue Service)
[Guidance Overview]
Benefit Claim Survives Claimant's Failure to Exhaust Administrative Remedies Due to Insurer's Failure to Provide Requested Documents
Excerpt: "EBIA Comment: This decision provides a good overview of some of the issues typical in ERISA benefits litigation and an illustration of the reaction to be expected from many judges when claimants are not given enough information to prepare their administrative appeals." (Employee Benefits Institute of America)
[Guidance Overview]
Fifth Circuit Rejects Employee's Retaliation Claim Based on Employer's Refusal to Accept Late COBRA Premium
Excerpt: "EBIA Comment: Several courts have held that physical or mental incapacity can suspend otherwise applicable COBRA payment deadlines. Given the trial court's initial legal conclusion that mental incapacity might suspend the time for making COBRA payments in this case, we had hoped to see the court rule on this issue at trial. However, the court resolved the employee's retaliation claim without resolving this underlying COBRA issue. Thus, the Fifth Circuit affirmed without mentioning the impact of mental incapacity in the COBRA context." (Employee Benefits Institute of America)
Extending Medicare: Effects on Employers and Employees
Excerpt: "The recently proposed expansion of Medicare to cover individuals between the ages of 55 and 64 if they purchase the coverage could forge a final compromise Democrats are seeking in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (H.R. 3590). So let's take a look at employees and employer-based plans in light of this proposal." (Wolters Kluwer)
As Washington Debates Health Care, Employers Must Make Choices
McGuireWoods Partner Salley Doubet King (Tax & Employee Benefits Department) is a co-author of the feature 'As Washington Debates Health Care, Employers Must Make Choices' in the Nov./Dec. 2009 issue of Counsel to Counsel. (McGuireWoods LLP)
Employers Take Note: Preventive Health Services, Dependent Coverage Expanded In Health Reform
Excerpt: "H.R. 3950: Sec. 1001 would require group health plans to cover, with no cost sharing, the following: certain evidence-based items (with A or B ratings) in the recommendations of the United States Preventive Services Task Force; immunizations recommended by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention evidence-based preventive care and screenings for infants, children, and adolescents provided for in the comprehensive guidelines supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration; and additional women's preventive care and screenings in comprehensive guidelines supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration. " (Wolters Kluwer)
California Employer Health Benefits Survey, 2009
Excerpt: "This annual survey shows how premiums and benefit design have changed over time. Key findings from the 2009 survey include: Between 2002 and 2009, premiums more than doubled, increasing 117.5%, while California's overall inflation rate increased 23.1%. Single coverage premiums in California cost $5,133 annually, significantly more than the national average of $4,824. Premiums for family coverage were $13,525. Forty-four percent of large employers and 20% of small ones are very likely within the next year to increase the amount employees pay for health insurance premiums. Six percent of California employers say they are very likely to drop coverage completely, compared to just 1% last year." (California HealthCare Foundation)
New Retiree Benefits Scam: 'Insurance Arbitrage'
Excerpt: "The pitch goes like this: The municipality or public agency responsible for funding its retiree medical plan (known as OPEB for 'other post-employment benefits) is induced to borrow money from a bank at a temporarily low interest rate usually tied to LIBOR. The municipality then buys a big fat juicy insurance policy that pays a fixed rate of interest, so that if interest rates remain at record-low levels for a decade, the municipality makes a hypothetical profit to pay off its OPEB liabilities." (Governing.com)
High Premiums in Senate Democrats' Health Plan
Excerpt: "According to the Congressional Budget Office, a family of four earning $54,000 in 2016, when the health legislation is fully in effect, would be eligible for a subsidy of $10,100 to help defray the cost of insurance under the health legislation being debated by the Senate. By then, one of the most popular federal plans, a nationwide Blue Cross and Blue Shield policy, is projected to cost more than $20,000." (The New York Times; free registration required)
[Opinion]
American Benefits Council/AFL-CIO Joint Letter to Senate Majority Leader Regarding Taxation of Retiree Drug Subsidy (PDF)
2 pages. Excerpt: "Section 9012 would cease the current tax excludability of the 28 percent subsidy provided to employers who continue to provide prescription drug coverage to their retirees. If this provision becomes law, it will be highly destabilizing for retirees who rely upon employer sponsored drug coverage, it will impose a dramatic and immediate impact on company financial statements, and it will not raise the estimated federal revenue attributed to this change in tax law." (American Benefits Council)
[Opinion]
Joint CFO Letter to Congress Regarding Taxation of Retiree Drug Subsidy (PDF)
2 pages. Excerpt: "Of significant concern to us in both the House and Senate bills are the provisions that would change the tax treatment of the Medicare Part D Retiree Drug Subsidy (RDS) Program to generate revenue to help offset the cost of health care reform." (American Benefits Council)
[Opinion]
Kaiser Permanente May Be Re-Designing Health Care Delivery
Excerpt: "'Optimistic' may be about the last word you'd choose to describe the health care industry. Or maybe 'innovative.' But the work now being undertaken by Kaiser Permanente, the nation's largest not-for-profit health plan, would make you gravitate toward those descriptors. Kaiser's collaborative, institution-wide effort known as KP Innovation could revolutionize health care for the whole industry." (The New York Times; free registration required)
[Opinion]
Nine Experts Weigh in on Plan to Replace Public Option in Health Bill
Excerpt: "Trying to apply the [Federal Employee Health Benefits Program] model to expand insurance coverage has been suggested before. Kaiser Health News staff writers contacted health policy experts about the advantages and disadvantages of such a plan and whether it would help control costs. Here are edited excerpts from those interviews . . . ." (Kaiser Family Foundation)
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THE DEFINED CONTRIBUTION PLANS SUMMIT
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Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
[Guidance Overview]IRS's Final ESPP Regulations and ESPP and ISO Reporting Requirements
Excerpt: "Observation: Employers should begin to review their stock plan administration so that the required information for 2010 transactions can be captured and reported on Form 3921 and 3922." (PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP)
[Guidance Overview]
2010 Reporting & Disclosure Calendar for Multiemployer Plans
Excerpt: "The 2010 Reporting & Disclosure Calendar for Multiemployer Plans lists and describes the forms, schedules and notices that must be filed with each organization for which plan types and by what deadlines. It also indicates who must file and whether copies must be provided to participants." (The Segal Group, Inc.)
[Guidance Overview]
IRS Issues Guidance on Complying with TARP and 409A
Excerpt: "The Internal Revenue Service has issued guidance on the application of 409A(a) to changes made to nonqualified deferred compensation plans to comply with an advisory opinion of the Office of the Special Master for TARP Executive Compensation." (PLANSPONSOR.com)
The Numbers for Tax Planning for 2009 and 2010
Excerpt: "This Private Clients Alert contains information helpful for individual income, gift and estate tax planning . . . . It is a handy reference guide to the many very important tax related 'Numbers' that impact individuals. Many of the limitations, ceilings, thresholds, etc., change each year due to inflation adjustments. The alert contains information that will be helpful for 2009 tax preparation and 2010 tax planning." (Nixon Peabody LLP)
Some Employers Scaling Back on Holiday Perks
Excerpt: "A new CareerBuilder survey finds many companies still plan to reward their employees with bonuses, gifts, and parties, but some are scaling back." (PLANSPONSOR.com)
Webcasts and Conferences
Cafeteria Plansin Washington on March 23, 2010
presented by EBIA / Thomson Reuters
Cafeteria Plans
in Texas on April 6, 2010
presented by EBIA / Thomson Reuters
Cafeteria Plans
in Minnesota on April 13, 2010
presented by EBIA / Thomson Reuters
Cafeteria Plans
in Maryland on April 20, 2010
presented by EBIA / Thomson Reuters
COBRA Compliance for Group Health Plans
in Washington on March 25, 2010
presented by EBIA / Thomson Reuters
COBRA Compliance for Group Health Plans
in Texas on April 8, 2010
presented by EBIA / Thomson Reuters
COBRA Compliance for Group Health Plans
in Minnesota on April 15, 2010
presented by EBIA / Thomson Reuters
COBRA Compliance for Group Health Plans
in Maryland on April 22, 2010
presented by EBIA / Thomson Reuters
ERISA Compliance for Health & Welfare Plans
in Washington on March 24, 2010
presented by EBIA / Thomson Reuters
ERISA Compliance for Health & Welfare Plans
in Texas on April 7, 2010
presented by EBIA / Thomson Reuters
ERISA Compliance for Health & Welfare Plans
in Minnesota on April 14, 2010
presented by EBIA / Thomson Reuters
ERISA Compliance for Health & Welfare Plans
in Maryland on April 21, 2010
presented by EBIA / Thomson Reuters
HIPAA Portability, Privacy & Security
in Washington on March 25, 2010
presented by EBIA / Thomson Reuters
HIPAA Portability, Privacy & Security
in Texas on April 8, 2010
presented by EBIA / Thomson Reuters
HIPAA Portability, Privacy & Security
in Minnesota on April 15, 2010
presented by EBIA / Thomson Reuters
HIPAA Portability, Privacy & Security
in Maryland on April 22, 2010
presented by EBIA / Thomson Reuters
HSAs, HRAs, and Consumer-Driven Health Care
in Washington on March 24, 2010
presented by EBIA / Thomson Reuters
HSAs, HRAs, and Consumer-Driven Health Care
in Texas on April 7, 2010
presented by EBIA / Thomson Reuters
HSAs, HRAs, and Consumer-Driven Health Care
in Minnesota on April 14, 2010
presented by EBIA / Thomson Reuters
HSAs, HRAs, and Consumer-Driven Health Care
in Maryland on April 21, 2010
presented by EBIA / Thomson Reuters
(Click to post your webcast or conference)
Press Releases
U.S. Labor Department Sues to Appoint Independent Fiduciary for 401(k) Plan Abandoned by Merrimack, New Hampshire, EmployerU.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)
(Click to post your press release)
Newly Posted Employee Benefits Jobs
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Account Coordinator
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in IA
Pension Actuary
for EBS-RMSCO, Inc.
in NY
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