401(k) Plans Administrator
for Valley Forge Pension Management in PA

Plan Administrator
for Growth-oriented TPA Firm in MD

Vice President and Associate General Counsel
for Fidelity Investments in TX

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Text of HHS Announcement Ending Early Retiree Reinsurance Program for Claims Incurred After Year-End (PDF)
"This notice announces that CMS, based on the projected availability of funding under the Early Retiree Reinsurance Program (ERRP), is exercising its authority under the ERRP regulations at 45 CFR 149.45(a) to deny ERRP reimbursement requests, in their entirety, that include claims that are incurred after December 31, 2011. Therefore, plan sponsors must not include such claims in their Claim Lists and Summary Cost Data submitted in support of a reimbursement request." (U.S. Department of Health & Human Services)

7th Annual Employer Health & Human Capital Congress   [Advert.]

Find solutions to empower improved health outcomes, restructure benefits to achieve cost sustainability and implement measurable wellness and benefit designs that stand up to CFO-scrutiny. February 7-9, Washington, DC

Fund To Help Cover Early Retirees Nearly Out of Money
"A $5 bil.lion fund that helped cover health insurance for more than five mil.lion early retirees will stop taking claims for expenses incurred after Dec. 31 because it is running out of money, according to a notice Friday in the Federal Register." (The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation)

ERISA's Outer Limits: The Admissibility of Extrinsic Evidence in Denied Claims for Plan Benefits
"Plaintiffs . . . who seek ERISA-regulated plan benefits often attempt to introduce evidence to a court which they did not earlier present to the employee benefit plan's administrator. Standing in the way of the introduction of extrinsic evidence is the ERISA statute's requirement that participants exhaust the plan's claims review procedure before filing suit." (Aspen Publishers, Wolters Kluwer Law & Business via Winston & Strawn LLP)

Medical Loss Ratio Rules Impact Employers with Fully Insured Health Plans
"The rebate raises other concerns for employers. For example, if an employer receives the rebate, the rebate may be a 'plan asset' that should be held in trust. DOL Technical Release 2011-04 provides relief from the trust requirement, but only if the rebate is used within three months of the employer receiving the rebate. Employers will likely want to closely monitor this three-month 'window' to ensure the funds are used in that time." (Quarles & Brady LLP)

Special COBRA Coverage Terms for the Departing Executive: Pitfalls to Avoid
"Common examples include a period of remaining on active coverage status even after employment responsibilities have largely ceased (for instance during any period in which the executive receives severance compensation), or employer payment of COBRA premiums for some period of time after termination." (E is for ERISA)

What Does the Health System's Future Hold?
"In a pair of articles, The Wall Street Journal examines the future of the American health care system and finds that many experts think there is little new in strategies to squeeze costs and improve quality." (The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation)

America's Health Rankings? (PDF)
"This report looks at the four groups of health determinants that can be affected: 1. Behaviors . . . . 2. Community and environment . . . . 3. Public and health policies . . . . 4. Clinical care . . . ." (United Health Foundation)

Health Care Reform Minimum Medical Loss Ratio Rule on Commissions Draws Insurance Brokers' Fire
"Agent and broker groups sought to have their commissions excluded from the requirement and hoped that a recent National Assn. of Insurance Commissioners' recommendation backing their stance would bolster their cause." (Business Insurance)

PepsiCo to Pay for Employee Surgeries at Johns Hopkins Hospital
"The world's second-largest soda company will pay for workers and their dependents — about 250,000 people — to travel to Baltimore for cardiac or complex joint surgeries, such as correcting problems in a previous knee replacement. PepsiCo will also cover the deductible and coinsurance for the procedures." (The Baltimore Sun)

Year in Review 2011: The Year in Benefit Management
"The second round of the health care reform law — developing guidance and regulations to implement the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act — provided a steady stream of rules and guidance this year. Some information was straightforward and welcomed by employers. One example: April Internal Revenue Service guidance clarified that certain health care costs, such as dental and vision care, do not have to be included when employers comply with a requirement to report the cost of health care coverage on employees' W-2 wage and income statements." (Business Insurance)

Flexible Workplace Aids Sleep and Increases Productivity
"The discovery is another blow to the old belief that productivity is tied to an individual being on-site for a strict 40 hours — and, never mind if they are unhappy or have poor health habits." (Psych Central)

Best (and Worst) of 2011: Health Care Reform
"The best and the worst development of 2011 concerning health care reform, two benefit experts say, involved the same issue: a reform law requirement that employers provide to employees a summary of their benefits and coverage." (Business Insurance)

Text of IRS Notice 2012-1 on the 2012 Standard Mileage Rates (PDF)
"This notice is effective for (1) deductible transportation expenses paid or incurred on or after January 1, 2012, and (2) mileage allowances or reimbursements paid to an employee or to a charitable volunteer (a) on or after January 1, 2012, and (b) for transportation expenses the employee or charitable volunteer pays or incurs on or after January 1, 2012." (U.S. Internal Revenue Service via BenefitsLink.com)

New Jersey Mayors Endorse Governor's Plan to Alter Public Employees' Sick Leave and Vacation Benefits
"'As a lawyer, [the governor] ought to know that his proposal to eliminate existing local government liabilities for sick and vacation payments amounts to an unconstitutional taking,' [an] Assemblyman said. 'He also knows that local officials already have the power to negotiate caps on retirement payouts." (newjerseynewsroom.com)

American Airlines' Bankrup.tcy Unlikely to Transform the Industry Into a Profitable One
"Almost all the nation's big airlines have steered a course into Chapter 11 over the last decade. They all shared one main objective: getting out from under labor contracts they claimed they could not afford." (The New York Times; free registration required)

Nancy Dittmer on ESOP Diversification (Part Three)
NCEO board member and ESOP expert Nancy Dittmer continues her discussion of ESOP diversification in this installment of her column on NCEO's Web site. (National Center for Employee Ownership)

American Academy of Actuaries Letter on Accounting for Post-Retirement Benefits Other than Pensions (PDF)
"On behalf of the Joint Committee on Retiree Health and Pension Accounting Committee of the American Academy of Actuaries', we appreciate the opportunity to provide comments to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) on the exposure drafts of Statements of Statutory Accounting Principles (SSAP) No. 92 and No. 102, which are intended to replace existing standards governing accounting for pension benefits and postretirement benefits other than pensions (OPEBs)." (American Academy of Actuaries)

ExpertPlan Completes Sterling Trust Conversion and Rolls out New Qualified Retirement Plan Program
(ExpertPlan)

IRS Announces 2012 Standard Mileage Rates, Most Rates Are the Same as in July
(Internal Revenue Service (IRS))

Towers Watson Recognized in Industry Report on Benefits Administration Outsourcing Market
(Towers Watson)