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April 26, 2012 Get Retirement News  |  Advertise  |  Unsubscribe  |  Past Issues  |  Search

Employee Benefits Jobs

Pension Administrator (Defined Contribution)
for Coble Pension Group, LLC in AZ

401(k) and 403(b) Plan Compliance Administrator
for Carroll Consultants Ltd, also DBA Armstrong, Doyle & Carroll Inc. in PA

Relationship Manager
for ASPire Financial Services, LLC in FL

Benefit Communication Enrollment Specialist
for Benefit Communication Insourcing in AL, AR, TX

Client Service Manager
for New York Life Retirement Plan Services in MA, NJ

Benefit Communication Administrator
for Benefit Communication Insourcing in AR

DC Administration Operations Manager
for New York Life Retirement Plan Services in MA, NJ

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Webcasts and Conferences

A Chat with Andy Zuckerman on Good Faith and Retroactive Amendment and Determination Letter Processing Issues
Nationwide on June 14, 2012 presented by ABA Joint Committee on Employee Benefits

Retirement Plan Compliance Assistance Seminar For Small Business
in Texas on May 22, 2012 presented by U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)

COBRA Compliance Workshop
in Nevada on May 1, 2012 presented by U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)

COBRA Compliance Workshop
in California on May 16, 2012 presented by U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)


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[Guidance Overview]
CCIIO Issues Guidance on Medical Loss Ratio Rules
"The [Center for Consumer Information and Insur.ance Oversight (CCIIO)] bulletin provides MLR guidance on the following topics: applicability of the MLR to certain types of plans, employer groups of one, counting employees for determining market size, individual association policies, offering policyholders a 'premium holiday,' reinsurance and reporting, Exchange user fees, states with a higher MLR standard, 'mini-med' experience and application of the adjustment, and form of rebate." (Wolters Kluwer Law & Business / CCH)


DATAIR! More Choices – Better Guidance – Less Cost   [Advert.]

Sponsored by DATAIR Employee Benefit Systems, Inc.

FSA, DCAP, Full-Flex, HRA, HSA, 132(f)
Documents, SPDs, Amendments, Administrative Forms
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[Guidance Overview]
Which Employees Are 'Full-Time' for Purposes of the Health Care Reform Employer Mandate?
"Importantly for employers that might be subject to the employer shared responsibility mandate, the guidance issued to date suggests that the agencies intend to allow a look-back/stability period during which an employer may determine which of its employees are full time. This means that, for current employees, the agencies are considering allowing employers to determine whether an employee has averaged at least 30 hours a week by looking back up to 12 months. Employers with highly mobile employees or work that varies seasonally may find that this look-back approach helps avoid classifying temporary or seasonal employees as full time." (Bloomberg BNA)

[Guidance Overview]
Some Programs Are Exempt from Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Trust Fund Fee Obligation
"Health insur.ance policies that are not subject to the fee include: Any insur.ance policy if substantially all of its coverage is of excepted benefits (e.g., accident- or disability-only plans or limited-scope dental or vision plans); Any group policy issued to an employer specifically to cover employees who are primarily working and residing outside of the United States (e.g., an expatriate health plan or policy), which is determined on a facts and circumstances basis; and, Stop loss and indemnity reinsurance policies[.]" (McDermott Will & Emery)

[Guidance Overview]
Tax Treatment of Employee MLR Rebates Is Clarified
"Plan sponsors are subject to restrictions in handling the MLR rebates. [DOL] issued a Technical Release explaining the analysis and procedures required by ERISA group health plan sponsors. [HHS] issued similar but distinct requirements for non-Federal governmental group health plans. The first round of rebates, based on financial data for 2011, is due from the issuers by August 1, 2012." (Deloitte)

Characteristics of the Population with Consumer-Driven and High-Deductible Health Plans, 2005-2011 (PDF)
"Generally, the population of adults within high-deductible health plans (HDHPs) and traditional health plans is split 50-50 by gender. In contrast, consumer-driven health plan (CDHP) enrollees were more likely to be female in 2010 and 2011. CDHP enrollees were roughly twice as likely as individuals with traditional coverage to have a college or post-graduate education. HDHP enrollees were also more likely than traditional-plan enrollees to have a college or graduate degree." (Employee Benefit Research Institute)


Second Annual Conference on Managed Care Litigation, May 22-23   [Advert.]

Sponsored by American Conference Institute

Managed Care Organizations represent “deep pockets” for potential plaintiffs and classes; defense requires meticulous planning. Only the ACI forum provides the opportunity to share defense strategies and tactics to enhance your litigation toolkit.


Performance Improvement in Health Care
"[The author] suggests that the federal government should first aim, by 2016, to hold the rate of increase in national health spending per capita to the annual projected growth in gross domestic product per capita plus 0.5 percentage points, and to maintain this rate through 2021. Achieving this target, [he] says, would reduce spending by $893 bil.lion over 10 years." (The Commonwealth Fund)

Commission of Leading Experts Unveils Plan to Improve Care for Chronically Ill Patients and Reduce Health Spending
"Noting the 'unprecedented opportunity' provided under the Affordable Care Act, the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health ... Act, and other recently enacted federal laws, the Commonwealth Fund Commission on a High Performance Health System today unveiled a community-based plan to enhance health and reduce spending by improving care for chronically ill patients and targeting quality improvement efforts to conditions that can yield the greatest benefit in a relatively short time. The 'Health Improvement Community' initiative proposed by the Commission has the potential to help those who most need more coordinated care and save $184 bil.lion in health spending over the next 10 years." (The Commonwealth Fund)

Where They Stand: Platform Planks of the 2012 Presidential Candidates on the U.S. Health Care System (PDF)
Updated as of April 17, 2012, to reflect any changes in the list of candidates and their policy positions. (Council for Affordable Health Insur.ance)

[Opinion]
Text of Consumer-Directed Health Coalition's Letter Urging Repeal of Prescription Requirement for HSA-Eligible OTC Drugs (PDF)
"[The Coalition supports] ... H.R. 2529, which would repeal ... the PPACA's restriction that Health Savings Account ... or Flexible Spending Account ... dollars may only purchase over-the-counter ... medical items when a physician prescription is obtained by an individual.... [which] trigger[s] additional but unnecessary health care costs to the consumer." (Consumer Directed Health Coalition)

[Opinion]
Text of American Benefits Council's Letter to IRS Pushing for Transition Relief for FSAs with Non-Calendar Year Plans (PDF)
"[The Council urges] the Service to issue transition relief that makes clear that health [Flexible Spending Accounts] with non-calendar plan years will not be subject to the limitation on salary deferral contributions for plan years beginning before January 1, 2013. ... [A]bsent the requested relief, such non-calendar year plans ... could be required to undertake costly and burdensome actions to the detriment of employees who participate in such plans." (American Benefits Council)

Benefits in General; Executive Compensation

'What, Me Worry?'—Shareholders Overwhelmingly Sanguine about Executive Comp Practices
"With the second proxy season of the 'say on pay' era now under way, it should be obvious that intense public outrage over supposedly excessive executive compensation is nothing more than a myth. Only 5 of 177 companies that held the shareholder advisory votes by April 20 received the dreaded thumbs-down. Last year just 45 companies—less than 2% of those required to hold the nonbinding polls—were hit with 'no' votes." (CFO)

Dismissal of Shareholder's 'Say on Pay' Lawsuit Provides Opportunity for Executive Compensation Counselors
"[W]hat makes the court's dismissal of In re Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. Consolidated Shareholder Derivative Litigation ... so interesting, is that the court quoted directly from the CD&A section of the proxy statement the company's explanation [of] its 2010 compensation decisions as evidence that the compensation committee of the board had clearly exercised its business judgment in settling the compensation." (Winston & Strawn LLP)

Telecommuting Creates 'Nexus' in Many States, Subjecting Products and Services to Sales Tax
"Telecommuting and maintaining in-home offices are among the activities that can create state tax liabilities, a Bloomberg BNA survey found. Potential Impact: Employers may be exposed to unexpected taxes when allowing employees to telecommute from other states. Few states have adopted nexus policies aimed at fostering alternative-work arrangements, according to a survey of state revenue agencies by Bloomberg BNA[.]" (Bloomberg BNA)

Press Releases



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