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BenefitsLink Health & Welfare Plans Newsletter
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[Guidance Overview]
New HHS Rules Regarding Medical Loss Ratio Requirements (PDF)
"It is anticipated that mini-med plans will no longer be allowed as of 2014 due to the prohibition under health care reform of annual and lifetime dollar limits. However, to satisfy the MLR requirements for 2012 and 2013, insurers may have to reduce administrative expenses or raise benefit levels to comply with the MLR requirements. This could result in employers needing to modify their benefit strategy for mini-med plans sooner than 2014."
(Buck Consultants, LLC)
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[Guidance Overview]
Court Sides with NFL Pension Board for Denial of Disability Benefits
"[The judge] noted the terms of the Bert Bell/Pete Rozelle NFL Player Retirement Plan say if the voting members of the board are deadlocked on whether a player meets the requirements for disability benefits, the plan provides that it may submit that medical questions to a medical advisory physician (MAP) for a final and binding determination."
(PLANSPONSOR.COM)
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[Guidance Overview]
San Francisco's New Rules on Health Reimbursement Arrangements
"The City and County of San Francisco Labor Standards Enforcement department has published the full law, highlighting the most recent changes, as well as sample contribution and separation of employment forms."
(Business Insurance)
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Michigan County Opts Out of State's Offer to Limit Health Care Costs
"Ogemaw County Commissioners have opted out of a new state public health insurance plan that aims to limit the amount employers contribute to employee health care. . . . [The chairman of the county's budget and finance committee] said county employees will continue to contribute 10 percent of their health insurance costs next year."
(Ogemaw County Herald)
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Middle Market Employers Eye Health Benefits Cuts in 2012
"About 65% of executives polled in a recent industry survey identified the cost of benefits most often as having the biggest impact on compensation decisions over the past year. Decision makers (37%) said they plan to increase employees' share of health and welfare costs, according to the 'Verisight and McGladrey 2011/2012 Compensation, Retirement and Benefits Trends Survey.'"
(Financial Planning and SourceMedia, Inc.)
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GAO Report Says Many Insurers Might Already Satisfy Medical Loss Ratio Rules
"Final data on MLRs for 2011 will not be available until required reports are filed with HHS in June 2012, so it remains to be seen how many insurers will meet the actual MLR standards in 2011. Employers and advisors starting to plan for rebates to be provided in 2012 by insurers that do not meet the standards should nevertheless find this report of interest for the background it provides."
(Thomson Reuters/EBIA)
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Benefits in General; Executive Compensation
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[Guidance Overview]
DOL Releases Form 5500 for 2011 Plan Year
"Given the numerous changes made to the 2009 and 2010 Form 5500, it is not surprising that the changes this year were fairly limited. In fact, most of the changes took the form of clarifications and enhancements to the Instructions. But plan administrators and service providers nonetheless should familiarize themselves with the revisions to ensure that their 2011 Form 5500 filings are complete and accurate."
(Thomson Reuters/EBIA)
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Press Releases
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