Consulting Support Specialist
for Northwestern Benefit Corporation of Georgia in GA

Pension Administrator
for IPD Inc. in NY

Vice President, Retirement Key Account Management
for Prudential in NJ

Retirement Plan Administrator
for Applied Pension Services, LLC in NY

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Form W-2 Reporting of Employer-Sponsored Health Coverage: IRS Informational Page Updated May 2, 2012
"The chart ... illustrates the types of coverage that employers must report on the Form W-2. Certain items are listed as 'optional' based on transition relief provided by Notice 2012-9 (restating and clarifying Notice 2011-28)." (Internal Revenue Service)

Communicating Benefits Doesn’t Have to be Expensive.   [Advert.]

Benefit costs concern everyone – including us. That’s why BeneCom keeps your communication costs low. How? Let’s start with no hourly fees and guaranteed pricing. So discover the large impact BeneCom can have on your benefits, not your budget.

Text of CCIIO Announcement on Medical Loss Ratio Annual Reporting Form, Reminding Health Insurers of June 1 Deadline (PDF)
"[The final regs require] an issuer to submit an annual report to the Secretary by June 1 of the year following the end of an MLR reporting year. The first annual report must be submitted to the Secretary by June 1, 2012.... Please refer to the [online] Medical Loss Ratio (MLR) Annual Reporting Form Instructions ... for the complete set of instructions." (Center for Consumer Information and Insur.ance Oversight)

Text of CCIIO Announcement on Medical Loss Ratio Rebate Notices, Reminding Health Insurers of August 1 Deadline (PDF)
"[The final regs require] an issuer to provide information in the form of a rebate notice to enrollees who are owed rebates, regardless of the form in which the rebate payment is made (e.g., check or future premium credit).... CMS has developed a standard form for the rebate notice that each issuer must send by August 1 of the following year to enrollees entitled to a rebate based upon the prior MLR reporting year. For example, notice of rebates based on the 2011 MLR reporting year must be provided by August 1, 2012.... Please refer to the [online] Medical Loss Ratio (MLR) Rebate Notice Instructions ... for the complete set of instructions." (Center for Consumer Information and Insur.ance Oversight)

Text of General CCIIO Guidance on Federally-Facilitated Health Exchanges (PDF)
"This document outlines the [HHS] approach to implementing a Federally-facilitated Exchange (FFE) in any State where a State-based Exchange is not operating. In addition to describing [the] high-level operational approach, [the document discusses]: 1. How States can partner with HHS to implement selected functions in an FFE, 2. Key policies organized by Exchange function, and 3. How HHS will consult with a variety of stakeholders to implement an FFE. Subsequent guidance documents will include additional policy and operational details intended to inform State decision-making and preparation for Exchange participation, roles and responsibilities, and potential areas of collaboration." (Center for Consumer Information and Insur.ance Oversight)

Nine Leading Trends in Rx Plan Management: Findings from a National Peer Study, 2012 Edition (PDF)
"Member health decisions now the #1 cost issue; Plan sponsors look to online tools and mobile apps to lower costs; Healthcare reform raises questions about future coverage options; Employer Group Waiver Plans may soon outnumber Retiree Drug Subsidy plans; Consumer-Directed Health plans gaining momentum again; Mail strategies growing and delivering results; Comprehensive management key to mitigating specialty trend; Drug coupons raise cost concerns; Plan sponsors embrace data-driven pharmacy care." (Express Scripts)

HHS Finalizes Requirement to Notify Consumers When MLR Spending Targets Met
"The final rule said that requiring the notices to be sent when MLRs are met 'will ensure that all consumers, not just those owed a rebate, are informed whether their issuer meets the minimum MLR standards established by the Affordable Care Act,' and it will 'reduce confusion as to why certain individuals receive rebates, while others, such as coworkers or family members with different plans, do not.'" (Bloomberg BNA)

GOP Prepares Reform Plan for Ruling on Health Law
"If the law is upheld, Republicans will take to the floor to tear out its most controversial pieces, such as the individual mandate and requirements that employers provide insur.ance or face fines. If the law is partially or fully overturned they'll draw up bills to keep the popular, consumer-friendly portions in place—like allowing adult children to remain on parents' health care plans until age 26, and forcing insur.ance companies to provide coverage for people with pre-existing conditions. Ripping these provisions from law is too politically risky, Republicans say." (Politico)

DOL Begins Enforcing the ACA Through Plan Audits
"Generally, plan sponsors and administrators must be able to demonstrate that their plans comply with the ACA, which requires documentary evidence -- from plans, record keepers, and/or service providers. Written records of the steps taken to comply with the ACA since September 23, 2010, including detailed records of participation information and communications with participants about enrollment periods and coverage, should be retained in a readily accessible fashion. For example, plans should keep and be able to produce notices of coverage for children up to 26 years of age, and evidence of distribution. Likewise, any plan amendments or written policies that were adopted to implement the ACA mandates discussed above should be ready for production." (Proskauer Rose LLP)

Is a 'Simple Cafeteria Plan' Right for Your Company?
"[The 'Simple Cafeteria Plan'] was established by health care reform and is available for years beginning after December 31, 2010. It provides eligible employers an automatic 'pass' for many of the nondiscrimination tests that apply to cafeteria plans and their component benefits.... A Simple Cafeteria Plan is treated as automatically satisfying the three nondiscrimination requirements that apply to cafeteria plans ... The general rules for cafeteria plan eligibility apply, so self-employed individuals, partners in a partnership (this includes members in an LLC taxed as a partnership) and more-than-2% S-corporation shareholders may not participate." (McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP)

More States Working to Implement Health Insur.ance Exchanges, HHS Announces
"[Illinois, Nevada, Oregon, South Dakota, Tennessee and Washington will receive more than $181 mil.lion in grants to help implement the new health care law by helping] states establish Affordable Insur.ance Exchanges. Starting in 2014, [the Exchanges will help consumers and small businesses in every state] choose a private health insur.ance plan. These comprehensive health plans will ensure consumers have the same kinds of insur.ance choices as members of Congress. [34] states and the District of Columbia have received Establishment grants to fund their progress toward building Exchanges." (Department of Health & Human Services)

Animated U.S. Map Showing Year-by-Year Increase in Obesity Among State Populations, 1985-2010
An effective use of animation to show a trend that substantially raises the cost of providing health care. "The number of states with an obesity prevalence of 30% or more has increased to 12 states in 2010. In 2009, nine states had obesity rates of 30% or more. In 2000, no state had an obesity prevalence of 30% or more." (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

How Does Health Reform Affect Rural America?
The Rural Health Panel analyzed federal health reform proposals, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act ('ACA'), and related government papers and documents and produced nine reports for federal policy-makers and stakeholders. The reports analyze the impacts of the various coverage proposals and of the ACA on rural people, places and providers. (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation)

USCCB Submits Comments on Proposed HHS Rulemaking, Urges Re-Opening of Final Rule Defining Mandate, Exemption
"'We believe that this mandate is unjust and unlawful—it is bad health policy, and because it entails an element of government coercion against conscience, it creates a religious freedom problem,' wrote Anthony Picarello, USCCB associate general secretary and general counsel, and Michael Moses, associate general counsel. 'These moral and legal problems are compounded by an extremely narrow exemption that intrusively and unlawfully carves up the religious community into those that are deemed 'religious enough' for an exemption, and those that are not.'" (The Sacramento Bee)

Backdating Stock Options Still a Risky Play
"The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit agreed with a district court ... that the former CFO of semiconductor concern Maxim Integrated Products ... would be on the hook for backdating stock options without expensing them. The case is notable for two reasons: it has been one of the few times that an options-backdating case actually went to trial, and it shows that CFOs and chief executives have no way to hide from improper expensing, even years later." (CFO)

Proskauer Rose ERISA Litigation Newsletter, May 2012
Articles include: Health Care Reform Remains Alive and Well as DOL Enforces ACA through Plan Audits; Class Warfare—ERISA Class Litigation in Light of Wal-Mart v. Dukes; and Rulings, Filings, and Settlements of Interest. (Proskauer Rose LLP)

Great-West Retirement Services Continues To Expand Its Corporate 401(k) Sales Team
(Great-West Retirement Services)

VALIC Selected And Endorsed By Georgia Independent College Association
(VALIC)