EmployeeBenefitsJobs.com logo BenefitsLink.com logo

BenefitsLink Health & Welfare Plans Newsletter

June 20, 2012 Get Retirement News  |  Advertise  |  Unsubscribe  |  Past Issues  |  Search

Employee Benefits Jobs

401k Plan Administrator - Account Manager
for CPS Inc. in ANY STATE

Senior Pension Account Representative
for American National Insurance Company in TX

Senior Team Leader - DC Relationship Management
for Trinity Pension Consultants in OH

Pension Administrator
for Jack A. Cross & Associates, Inc. in CA

eProduct Manager
for New York Life Retirement Plan Services in MA

Post Your Job on EmployeeBenefitsJobs.com

View All Jobs

RSS feed for jobs RSS Feed: All Jobs


Webcasts and Conferences

Completing the Schedule SB Webcast
Nationwide on July 10, 2012 presented by American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries (ASPPA)

Opportunity Knocks – Cash Balance Plans Webcast
Nationwide on July 12, 2012 presented by American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries (ASPPA)

Open MEPs: Life after the DOL Advisory Opinion Webcast
Nationwide on July 19, 2012 presented by American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries (ASPPA)

Live FutureOffice Network Smartcast - Creating a Culture of Well-Being: Servant Leadership
Nationwide on June 21, 2012 presented by Davidson Marketing Group -- FutureOffice Network

ACOPA Actuarial Symposium
in Illinois on August 10, 2012 presented by American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries (ASPPA)


We also publish the BenefitsLink Retirement Plans Newsletter (free): Subscribe

[Guidance Overview]

Potential Holdings by Supreme Court on the ACA: Immediate Implications for Group Health Plans
"The following discussion highlights certain of the ACA provisions that have already gone into effect. This discussion is premised on the assumption that only the mandate would be declared invalid from enactment, and that other provisions will be struck down prospectively only. Different issues will arise if other provisions in addition to the mandate are held to be invalid on a retroactive basis. At the end of this article, we have included a high-level snapshot analysis of the potential impact of such a ruling on individual account plans (FSAs, HRAs and HSAs)." (Alston & Bird)


ftwilliam.com, TAG Data, CCH and Aspen Publisher’s User Conference   [Advert.]

Sponsored by ftwilliam.com

Learn from industry specialists! We’ll cover hot topics like Fee Disclosure, TPA Workflow, Multiple Employer Plans and much more! Make sure to drop in on our product specific round table discussions and talk about our products with fellow TPAs.


U.S. Employers Addressing Workplace Obesity; Issue Remains a Growing Problem, Especially for Small and Mid-Size Employers
"Employers need better information about how obesity relates to employee safety and to other related health conditions, as well as information on the associated cost burden. Employers of all sizes already have a variety of wellness program components—even if obesity is not a focal point. Respondents said they are now investing in obesity prevention and those that are not are interested in what they might do, how to do it, and how to measure success." (National Business Coalition on Health)

Actuaries Worry Health Care Costs Will Remain High Regardless of Eventual Supreme Court Decision
"The survey ... at the SOA's annual Health Meeting, found approximately two-thirds of respondents expect annual costs for currently insurable individuals to increase at least 10 percent, and costs for large group employers to increase at least five percent, even if the ACA is upheld in its entirety. If the individual mandate is struck down, but all other provisions remain, 76 percent of actuaries surveyed expect annual health costs for currently insurable patients to increase more than 10 percent." (MarketWatch)

NY Defense of Marriage Act Lawsuit Seeks Health Care Benefits for Same-S.ex Spouses
"The lawsuit filed Tuesday in federal court in Manhattan sought past and future health care benefits and a declaration that the Westchester County couple is entitled to the benefits. The lawsuit's plaintiffs remained anonymous. Defendants included Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield and St. Joseph's Medical Center." (The Washington Post; free registration required)

Even Most Tea Party Members Want New Health Care Reform Effort If Supreme Court Throws Out Obama Health Law
"Large majorities of both opponents and backers of the law share the view that Congress and the president should undertake a new effort. The lowest level of support for new health care legislation comes from people who identify themselves as strong supporters of the tea party. Even in that group, though, nearly 60 percent favor work on a new bill." (The Washington Post; free registration required)


7th Annual Congress on On-Site Employee Health Clinics   [Advert.]

Sponsored by Global Media Dynamics, LLC

Strategically building & expanding on-site health clinics -- incorporating innovative strategies to reduce costs and ensure employee satisfaction. July 19–20, 2012, Boston, MA


ML Strategies Weekly Health Care Reform Update, June 18, 2012 (PDF)
Weekly update on developments in federal and state health care reform legislation and regulations. Includes summaries of recent announcements and regulatory activity by HHS, CCIIO, IRS and CMS. (Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C.)

What's At Stake for Women If Health Care Law Overturned
"Starting in 2014, the law bars insur.ance practices such as charging women higher premiums than men, or denying coverage for pre-existing conditions that could include pregnancy, a Caesarean-section birth or a se.xual or a domestic violence assault. Even excluding maternity coverage, [a recent study] found that nearly one-third of the most commonly sold insur.ance plans charged women aged 25 to 40 at least 30 percent more than men for the same coverage.... While about 14 states have already barred insurers from charging women more, such restrictions will be universal in 2014 if the law stands." (Kaiser Health News)

J.D. Power 2012 Employer Health Plan Study
"Amid uncertainty surrounding the future of employer-sponsored coverage, employers are preparing to pursue alternate methods of offering healthcare options to their employees—such as defined contributions, vouchers, exchange purchasing—or cutting coverage altogether.... The study finds that 47 percent of employers say they 'definitely will' or 'probably will' switch to a defined contribution model within a private exchange, allowing employees to select the coverage that best fits their needs, while also potentially saving the employer costs." (J.D. Power and Associates)

A Health Care Mandate That Might Not Matter: Possible Inadequate Penalties for Noncompliance
"Advocates of heath care reform argue that eliminating the mandate could gut the president's plan. Most health economists would probably agree. But this consensus is based on a fairly optimistic view that the individual mandate and accompanying fines for failing to comply will be highly effective at persuading Americans to buy health insur.ance that they would otherwise forgo. On that score, the mandate might matter less than its advocates believe. Ultimately, the answer will depend on Americans' behavior. Specifically, how far will we go for a free lunch?" (The New York Times; free registration required)

HR and Benefits Decision-Makers Admit to Lack of Understanding of Their Responsibilities Under Health Care Reform
"[A] survey reveals that a majority of Human Resource and benefits decision makers at U.S. companies of all sizes believe the U.S. health care landscape is going through profound change. In addition, a significant number of these decision makers expressed a lack of confidence that their organizations clearly understand their new responsibilities under the requirements of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The study also found that preparedness for key upcoming ACA regulations varies greatly across different sized companies." (Wolters Kluwer Law & Business)

Some Health System Changes Will Stay, No Matter How the Supreme Court Rules
"Soaring costs, tight budgets, better technology and industry consolidation ensure health care won't go back to 2009 no matter what the court or Congress do, say analysts and industry officials.... A decision to strike down all or part of the law would threaten the expanded coverage that many see as its signature feature. But the act also triggered new attempts to move away from 'fee for service' insur.ance, in which medical providers are paid for each visit and procedure, and toward rewarding efficiency and quality." (Kaiser Health News)

[Opinion]

Don't Overemphasize ACA's Individual Mandate: Other Features Are Far Worse
"The ACA is a classic illustration of placing a persuasive title on a controversial statute to conceal its deep internal weaknesses. There is no way that one can 'protect patients' by restricting, either through private employers or public exchanges, the choices they have in the type of plans they can join. It would be impossible for the statute to make health care more affordable when it piles major mandates on private plans, which could make them too costly to operate at all." (HealthAffairs Blog)

[Opinion]

Why Prices for Health Care Matter
"The single biggest mistake in all of health policy is the belief that the best way to make health care accessible is to make it free at the point of delivery.... [T]his mistake underlies our entire approach to providing health care to low-income families in this country; it is the basis for the organization of the entire health system in most other developed countries; and it is deeply embedded in the Obama administration's approach to health reform." (John Goodman's Health Policy Blog)

[Opinion]

Text of Comments by U.S. Chamber of Commerce to IRS on Reporting by Applicable Large Employers on Health Insur.ance Coverage Under Employer-Sponsored Plans
"With regard to this Notice, the Chamber's primary concern is the administrative burden imposed on business. That said, we believe that the IRS has incorrectly interpreted which employers must report coverage under Section 6056.... While reporting may be necessary to determine which employers must be penalized for failing to offer affordable coverage that meets the minimum essential value standard, we encourage the IRS to remain focused on the reason the information is needed." (U.S. Chamber of Commerce)

[Opinion]

Text of Comments by U.S. Chamber of Commerce to IRS on Minimum Value of an Employer-Sponsored Health Plan
"[The Chamber] strongly recommends that the safe harbor concept be broadened ... Given that only two percent of individuals were then covered by plans which failed to meet the 60 percent actuarial value threshold, it will be an even smaller percentage once these plans are outlawed.... [Also, the Chamber disputes] the position taken in this Notice (and in the Actuarial Value and Cost-Sharing Reduction Bulletin by the Department of Health and Human Services) that, when calculating the minimum value of the contribution made by the employer to an HSA or HRA, only a portion or 'appropriate amount' of these employer contributions would be credited to the actuarial value calculation. Instead, the entire amount of the employer contributions should be included." (U.S. Chamber of Commerce)

[Opinion]

Text of Comments by U.S. Chamber of Commerce to IRS on Reporting of Health Insur.ance Coverage
"[The Chamber believes] the reporting requirements contained in this provision are statutorily placed on those who offer minimum essential coverage and are therefore not likely to be penalized under the free rider penalty. [The Chamber does not believe] that this provision applies to employers who may be penalized for not offering coverage or having employees whom receive tax credits. [The Chamber believes] the statute intended to place a lower reporting requirement and burden on those employers who offer minimum essential coverage.... Not only [does the Chamber] have concerns about the Notice's interpretation of which provisions apply to which classifications of employers, the Chamber also has concerns which specific section of Section 6055 applies to employers." (U.S. Chamber of Commerce)

Benefits in General; Executive Compensation

UK Legislation to Give Shareholders Power Over Executive Pay
"The plans will strengthen the hand of shareholders who currently only have an advisory and non-binding vote on directors' remuneration.... The move follows measures to limit the level of banker's [sic] bonuses following the financial crisis and comes as the European Union considers similar proposals to boost shareholder control over director pay.... Shareholders, led by insurers and large pension funds, have become increasingly critical of what they regard as overgenerous pay for senior executives, especially where corporate performance has been disappointing." (Reuters)

More Companies Getting Serious About Compensation Risk Assessments
"Item 402(s) of Regulation S-K, issued by the [SEC] in December 2009, requires a company to assess whether its compensation policies and practices for all employees, including non-executive officers, are reasonably likely to have a material adverse effect on the company. Item 407(h) ... requires disclosure of the company's board leadership structure and the reasons why the company believes that its board leadership structure is appropriate, including a description of the extent of the board's role in the risk oversight of the company, such as how the board administers its oversight function, and the effect that this has on the board's leadership structure. Because the SEC published [these] new rules ... in December 2009, too late to do much for the 2010 proxy statements, and 2010 saw promulgation of the Dodd-Frank Act, many companies never fully ramped-up their compliance efforts related to their executive compensation disclosure in the area of potential risks created by compensation plans." (Winston & Strawn LLP)

Providence R.I. Retirees to Vote on Proposed Pension COLA Freeze, Health Plan Restructuring
"Providence's retired police officers and firefighters start voting Tuesday on whether to accept a proposed settlement to keep the city out of bankrup.tcy by voluntarily reducing their pension and health benefits ... The retirees' ballots will be counted on Thursday ... If the retirees reject the deal, the lawsuit they filed challenging the city's attempt to move them to Medicare will move forward." (WPRI.com)

Impact of Federal Policies on an Aging Workforce with Disabilities
"This review of federal policy toward older workers with disabilities highlights the work disincentives built into the Social Security Disability Insur.ance (DI) system. For example, DI does not pay benefits or provide rehabilitation services until workers are fully disabled, by which time intervention is often too late to promote employment. Because partial benefits are unavailable, DI beneficiaries risk losing all cash benefits (and eventually Medicare coverage) by earning just a dollar more than the earnings limit, reducing the use of DI work supports. Rules governing Social Security retirement, Medicare, and phased retirement also discourage employment by older adults with disabilities." (Urban Institute)

Autism Legislation Database
This searchable database tracks autism legislation from the 2008 session to present. Search legislation by state, topic, status, primary sponsor, bill number or keyword. Updated June 18, 2012. (National Conference of State Legislatures)

Press Releases



BenefitsLink.com, Inc.
1298 Minnesota Avenue, Suite H
Winter Park, Florida 32789
Phone (407) 644-4146
Fax (407) 644-2151

David Rhett Baker, J.D., Editor and Publisher
Lois Baker, J.D., President
Holly Horton, Business Manager

Copyright © 2012 BenefitsLink.com, Inc. All rights reserved.

All materials contained in this newsletter are protected by United States copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of BenefitsLink.com, Inc., or in the case of third party materials, the owner of that content. You may not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content.

Links to Web sites other than those owned by BenefitsLink.com, Inc. are offered as a service to readers. The editorial staff of BenefitsLink.com, Inc. was not involved in their production and is not responsible for their content.

More useful links: