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[Guidance Overview]
Judge Improperly Denied Discovery in ERISA Action to Recover Healthcare Benefits
– "The Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals vacated summary judgment in an ERISA action to recover denied healthcare benefits where the district court denied an insured's motion to compel discovery based on an erroneous view of the scope of admissible and discoverable evidence in ERISA actions."
(Strafford Publications, Inc.)
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[Guidance Overview]
Court Declines to Impose Penalties Against TPA for Late Election Notice
– "This case reminds us of why it is so important to establish and maintain reliable procedures and to keep careful records showing that COBRA election notices have been sent. However, we are curious why the court did not just dismiss the COBRA claims against the TPA since it found that the TPA was not the plan administrator."
(Thomson Reuters/EBIA)
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Employer and Employee Reactions to Health Reform: Findings from Two Surveys (PDF)
– "This paper presents data from the 2010 EBRI/MGA Consumer Engagement in Health Care Survey and the Society for Human Resource Management's 2010 SHRM Organizations' Response to Health Care Reform Poll to examine how employers might respond to health reform and employees expectations of changes to health coverage."
(Employee Benefit Research Institute)
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Taking the Copay Out of Staying Healthy
– "A 2007 study . . . found that more than 100,000 lives could be saved annually by increasing the use of just five services: aspirin to prevent heart disease, smoking cessation assistance, screenings for breast and colorectal cancers, and flu shots."
(Los Angeles Times)
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Ways and Means Hearing January 26 to Examine Health Reform Impact on Jobs, Employers, and the Economy
– "The hearing will examine the economic and regulatory burdens imposed by the enactment and implementation of the 'Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act' . . . and the 'Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010' . . . . It will explore the impact on jobs stemming from the new taxes and new federal regulatory requirements. It will also analyze the impact of the employer mandate on job creation."
(U.S. House Committee on Ways and Means)
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[Opinion]
Time is Ripe for Reform of Health Care Reform
– "The time for reforming the 2010 Health
Care Reform legislation has never been more opportune. . . . [I]t is reported
that the President's State of the Union address on January 25 will contain a
heavy dose of emphasis on assuring competitiveness of American business in
world trade as a means of rebuilding the economic health of the nation, which
has to translate into alleviating the burdens on companies large and small
that have been identified and decried in business circles."
(Alvin D. Lurie via BenefitsLink.com)
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Benefits in General; Executive Compensation
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[Official Guidance]
IRS Issues Three Benefits-Related Publications
– "Publication 969 is a handy tool for comparing the basic features of various consumer-driven health care vehicles without getting into too much detail. Likewise, Publication 4894 provides a quick reference on the health care reform tax changes it summarizes (note that it does not include all of health care reform's tax provisions)."
(Thomson Reuters/EBIA)
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[Guidance Overview]
Employer Return Requirements for ISOs and ESPPs: New Reporting Requirements for 2011
– "The new reporting rules do not replace the existing rules requiring a corporation to report and withhold on any taxable income recognized by an employee on the exercise of an option. The final regulations only provide for enhanced reporting requirements with respect to return and information statements."
(Proskauer Rose LLP)
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Parity Noted for Online vs. Face-to-Face Benefits Enrollment
– "The value of cyberspace during open enrollment is at least on equal footing with face time, suggest two recent unpublished surveys of employees and carriers that sell voluntary benefit plans. Neither communication method appears to be proving itself superior."
(Employee Benefit News; one-time free registration required)
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Press Releases
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