Operations Manager
for retirement advisory services corp in PA

PAS Client Services Manager
for Milliman in CO

PAS Client Services Manager
for Milliman in TX

Senior DB Data Analyst
for Diversified in MA

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Employee Plans Enforcement Priorities for 2012
in California on April 19, 2012 presented by Western Pension & Benefits Conference - Orange County Chapter

Shifting the Cost Paradigm with Big Data and Prepayment Analytics
in California on May 16, 2012 presented by MCOL

Claims Processing: A Collaborative Effort
Nationwide on April 26, 2012 presented by MCOL

Annual Education Workshop
in Florida on April 16, 2012 presented by Florida West Coast Employee Benefits Council

Keeping Your 403(b) Compliant - Clean-up on Aisle Three
Nationwide on May 16, 2012 presented by National Institute of Pension Administrators

Distributions: Retirement Planning
Nationwide on May 23, 2012 presented by National Institute of Pension Administrators

CFDD

Text of Proposed HHS Regs Requiring Health Plan Identifiers and Extending Compliance Date for ICD-10 Code Sets for Billing (PDF)
"This proposed rule would implement section 1104 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act ... by establishing new requirements for administrative transactions that would improve the utility of the existing [HIPAA] transactions and reduce administrative burden and costs. It proposes the adoption of the standard for a national unique health plan identifier (HPID) and requirements or provisions for the implementation of the HPID." (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services)

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Official 'Fact Sheet': HHS Proposes HIPAA Standard for a Unique Health Plan Identifier
"[A committee in 2010] addressed the need for an identifier for entities such as health care clearinghouses, third party administrators (TPAs), and repricers, that are not health plans but that perform certain health plan functions. These entities are currently identified in the standard transactions in the same fields and using the same types of identifiers as health plans, but are not health plans and so cannot obtain a health plan identifier. Based on the [committee's] recommendations, HHS is proposing to adopt an 'other entity' identifier (OEID).' ... [C]overed entities, excluding small health plans, would be required to be in compliance with the HPID on October 1, 2014. Small health plans would be required to be in compliance with the HPID on October 1, 2015." (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services)

ML Strategies Health Care Reform Update, April 9, 2012 (PDF)
Weekly update on federal and state health care reform legislation, regulations and initiatives. (ML Strategies, LLC)

CBO Projects Reduction in Employment-Based Health Coverage Under Affordable Care Act
"The March 2012 report projects that 3 to 5 mil.lion fewer people will obtain coverage through their employer each year during the period 2019 through 2022 than would have been the case without the Act. In 2010, the CBO similarly projected that 3 mil.lion fewer people would obtain employment-based coverage in 2019." (Deloitte)

Obama Health Care Law Could Worsen U.S. Debt, Says Republican Study
"A study by Charles Blahous, a George Mason University research fellow and the Republican trustee for the Medicare and Social Security entitlement programs for the elderly, challenged the administration's contention that the 2010 law would reduce healthcare costs." (The New York Times; free registration required)

Creating a Culture of Wellness & Well-Being Congress   [Advert.]

Achieve preventive health management, personal health accountability, measurable productivity enhancements and cost-savings by integrating wellness into the fabric of your organizational culture and environment. May 7-8, 2012 - Chicago, IL

Health Care Reform Law Will Add $340 Bil.lion to Deficit, Study Says
"The 2010 law does generate both savings and revenue. But much of that money will flow into the Medicare hospitalization trust fund—and, under law, the money must be used to pay years of additional benefits to those who are already insured. That means those savings would not be available to pay for expanding coverage for the uninsured." (The Washington Post)

Employers Should Not Delay Preparing for 2014 Health Care Reform Requirements Despite Pending Supreme Court Case (PDF)
"Absent a ruling that deems the Individual Mandate unconstitutional and not 'severable' from the remainder of the law, the employer-specific provisions of the ACA will likely remain as enacted.... [I]t is unlikely that Congress has the political will to reopen the law and make additional changes such as removing the Employer Mandate.... As a result, the Supreme Court decision itself should provide the impetus for employers who have not yet begun planning for 2014 to start such preparations." (Epstein Becker & Green, P.C.)

Deloitte's Health Care Reform Memo, April 9, 2012
This weekly publication summarizes recent developments including legislative developments and state and federal implementation updates. The current issue includes discussions of a pending Texas Circuit Court case that addresses the physician ownership constraint in ACA, and the 2013 payment rule for Medicare Advantage and Prescription drug plans recently released by CMS. (Deloitte Center for Health Solutions)

What Level of Impact Fits Your Wellness Plan?
"Structure, monitor, measure and modify a wellness program that's appropriate for your organization ... As costs rise, plan administrators hope that their wellness programs will help stem and reduce rising health plan costs. Plan administrators might harbor over-optimistic expectations of what a wellness initiative can deliver, however." (Society for Human Resource Management)

How to Replace Obamacare
"Proponents of Obamacare like to create the impression that there are tens of millions of Americans trapped by their pre-existing conditions, sick and stuck with lousy insurance and no options. In truth, the vast majority of working Americans have good and secure coverage today, including many millions of people with expensive health conditions." (Physicians for a National Health Program)

Much Ado About Broccoli
"The need to legislate behavior in an effort to help reduce costs is simply a lap too far. A government dedicated to reducing costs while preserving quality and competition would need to adopt practices currently employed and bearing fruit in the private sector to moderate medical trend and improve affordability. The reality is many of these efforts—biometric testing, health risk assessments, population based plan designs, value based reimbursements—require a more prescriptive level of engagement by employees." (The Health Care Blog)

What Private Markets Could Do on the Day After Obamacare, If Regulatory Burdens Were Lifted
"Most pathologies in the current system are creatures of previous laws and regulations. Solicitor General Donald Verrilli explained as much in his opening statement to the Supreme Court: 'The individual market does not provide affordable health insurance,' he noted, 'because the multibillion dollar subsidies that are available' for the 'employer market are not available in the individual market.' ... If we had a deregulated, competitive market in individual catastrophic insurance, that market would be so much cheaper than what's offered today that we would likely not even need the mandate." (The Health Care Blog)

Another Question is Answered in the Who's the Employer Q&A Column
I am a pastor of a church. Am I considered an employee of the church, or instead am I a self-employed independent contractor? (BenefitsLink.com)

Many Public Workers Agree They Have It Better Than Private Sector Peers
"Nearly half of government workers in the survey—46 percent—agreed they don't work as hard as their private sector counterparts ... The government employees did differ in how they viewed their pay. Just 35 percent of those who identified themselves as government workers said they thought the average public servant earns more annually than the typical private sector worker." (Government Executive)

Four Employee Benefit Plan Tips for HR and Finance Departments
"The Society of Actuaries exposure draft of a new mortality improvement scale, if adopted, is expected to result in increases in traditional pension plan liabilities of 2% to 4% and in retiree health care liabilities of 6% to 9%.... [I]f you have never had your [401(k)] safe harbor notice reviewed by counsel, now is a great time to make sure it is compliant.... The IRS has given employers an opportunity to correct deficiencies [under section 409A] in release language [in employment contracts and severance agreements] without any penalties or reporting requirements, but to be entitled to relief, agreements must be amended no later than December 31, 2012.... Some of the nation's largest consulting firms (Aon Hewitt and Mercer), as well as other companies in the insurance business, are rolling out private health insurance exchanges for employers." (Poyner Spruill LLP)

6th Edition of Derrin Watson's Who's the Employer Book Becomes Available
(S. Derrin Watson)