[Official Guidance]
Text of IRS Notice 2011–73: Request for Comments on Health Coverage Affordability Safe Harbor for Employers (PDF)
"To . . . provide employers a more workable option for determining the affordability of their health coverage, Treasury and the IRS expect to propose an affordability safe harbor whereby, for purposes of § 4980H(b), affordability of an employer's coverage would be measured by reference to an employee's wages from that employer. Wages for this purpose would be the total amount of wages as defined in § 3401(a), which is the amount required to be reported in Box 1 of Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement (W-2 wages)."
(U.S. Internal Revenue Service)
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Social media: Your tool for year-round benefits communication [Advert.]
Are you trying to get people engaged in their benefits? Effective year-round communication is easier than you think. Our Social Media Starter Kit will teach you how to use powerful web tools to connect with your people—and improve your programs.
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[Guidance Overview]
Will Your Employees Get a Better Deal through a Health Insurance Exchange?
"Employer-sponsored coverage is 'affordable' if the employee's share of the annual premium for employee-only coverage for the calendar year does not exceed 9.5% of the employee's household income for the calendar year. The 9.5% may be periodically adjusted after 2014 for inflation."
(Miller, Johnson, Snell & Cummiskey C.L.P.)
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[Guidance Overview]
New Disclosure Requirements Mandated by Health Care Reform
"Employers will find that complying with these new rules will be cumbersome, particularly for their self-insured plans. The regulations are just in proposed form, and there are lots of details that still need to be resolved."
(Nixon Peabody LLP)
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[Guidance Overview]
Waiver Deadline for Non-Exempt HRAs: Immediate Action Required
"Employers that sponsor self-insured mini-med reimbursement arrangements, health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs), and certain types of health flexible spending accounts (health FSAs) may need to take action by September 22, 2011."
(Hodgson Russ LLP)
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Treasury/IRS Seek Public Input on Certain Employer Provisions of the Affordable Care Act
"Notice 2011–73 . . . solicits public input and comment on a proposed safe harbor, designed to make it easier for employers to determine whether the health coverage they offer is affordable. To that end, Treasury and IRS expect to propose a safe harbor permitting employers that offer coverage to their employees to measure the affordability of that coverage by using wages that the employer paid to an employee, instead of the employee's household income. This contemplated safe harbor would only apply for purposes of the employer shared responsibility provision, and would not affect employees' eligibility for health insurance premium tax credits."
(U.S. Internal Revenue Service)
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How Will PPACA Affect Consumer-Driven Health Care?
"In addition to detailing the PPACA-related changes to HSAs, FSAs and HRAs, [the author] includes updates on deductibles, out-of-pocket costs and tax-related information."
(Council for Affordable Health Insurance)
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Lost-Time Programs Appear Stable In Poor Economy
"'Research repeatedly has shown that the full costs of health—including absence, disability, employee performance and lost productivity—can often be greater than medical and pharmacy costs combined. Employers need to carefully consider these broader issues in decisions about exiting the health care system.'"
(Wolters Kluwer Law & Business / CCH)
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Health Insurance Plans' Innovative Initiatives to Combat Cardiovascular Disease
"A concerted focus on four interventions called the ABCS: Aspirin use, Blood pressure control, Cholesterol control and Smoking cessation, could save hundreds of thousands of lives a year. The profiles in this report provide a sample of some of the innovative trends in health plan initiatives to fight heart disease through incorporating the ABCS."
(America's Health Insurance Plans)
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The ABCs of Workplace Flexibility
"In honor of National Work and Family Month, the Life Meets Work team collaborated to create the following ABCs of Workplace Flexibility."
(TheHuffingtonPost.com, Inc.)
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[Opinion]
Why Obamacare's a Legal Loser: Virginia Court Ruling Says Nothing about Law's Constitutionality
"Contrary to the headlines, the 4th Circuit Federal Court of Appeals did not 'uphold' the constitutionality of the Obama health law's mandatory insurance provision last week. The court dismissed the Virginia challenge for technical reasons but made a point of saying that the health law raises important constitutional questions that should be decided by the court on another day."
(NYDailyNews.com)
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Benefits in General; Executive Compensation
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[Guidance Overview]
IRS Notice 2011–72 Brings End to Issue of the Taxation of Employer-Provided Cell Phones
"On September 14, 2011, the IRS issued long awaited guidance on the tax treatment of cellular phones or other similar telecommunication equipment that employers provide to their employees primarily for noncompensatory business reasons. In Notice 2011-72 the IRS announced that if the cell phone is provided primarily for noncompensatory business reasons, the substantiation rules necessary to exclude the value of the use of the cell phone as a working condition fringe benefit will be deemed satisfied and any personal use of the cell phone will be deemed excludable as a de minimis fringe benefit."
(Miller & Chevalier Chartered)
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[Guidance Overview]
SEC Continues to Use Sarbanes-Oxley to Claw Back Incentive Compensation
"it is more important than ever that CEOs and CFOs, as well as other executive officers, set an appropriate tone at the top of their organizations, regularly evaluate the appropriateness and effectiveness of internal controls over financial reporting and disclosure controls and procedures, and work effectively with the company's internal audit function and independent registered public accounting firm."
(Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati)
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States Erode Power of Public-Sector Unions
"A law requiring Michigan public workers to contribute 3 percent of their pay to a retirement-healthcare fund was invalidated by an appeals court, but state efforts to decrease the benefits and compensation of union workers—as well as their right to collectively bargain—continue to increase."
(Human Resource Executive Online)
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Men and Work-Life Integration: A Global Study
"A quarter century after its emergence and a decade after the business case was established, the work-life field is challenged to understand the barriers that persist in preventing both employees (especially men) from fully utilizing work-life options, and managers (often men) from fully supporting them."
(WorldatWork)
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Press Releases
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