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July 11, 2012 Get Retirement News  |  Advertise  |  Unsubscribe  |  Past Issues  |  Search

Employee Benefits Jobs

Regional Director
for The Newport Group in CA

Defined Benefit Plan Administrator
for Chicago Area TPA Firm in IL

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Webcasts and Conferences

Full Steam Ahead on Health Care Reform
Nationwide on July 12, 2012 presented by Seyfarth Shaw LLP

ERISA Fee Disclosure Symposium
in Texas on October 23, 2012 presented by Roland|Criss Fiduciary Services


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Should You Drop Your Personal Health Insur.ance Under Health Care Reform?
"Now that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), more commonly known as 'ObamaCare', has been declared to be constitutional, we thought we might revisit a topic we had originally considered after it was signed into law: Does it make more financial sense for you to pay for health insur.ance or to pay the ObamaCare mandate tax instead?" (Business Insider)


Health Care Reform Virtual Conference - August 16, 2012   [Advert.]

Sponsored by IFEBP (International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans)

The Supreme Court’s ruling has a major impact on health plans. This virtual conference will dive deep into portions of the law. Hear expert analysis and gain access to valuable resources to help you understand your responsibilities. Register Now!


Legal Challenges, Risks of Prescription Drug Adherence Programs
"[This article] discusses the renewed commitment to increasing prescription drug adherence levels following the enactment of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act [including] an overview of the key health regulatory issues that manufacturers, plans, pharmacy benefit managers, pharmacies and related providers may face when structuring drug adherence programs and [the article] suggests approaches for minimizing legal risks." (Mintz Levin)

Obama Says Part-Time Firefighters Can Buy Federal Health Insur.ance
"Uncle Sam is finally closing a loophole that allowed him to avoid offering health insur.ance for some federal employees who risk their lives to save the lives and property of others. Federal firefighters regularly work in a burning hell. But many are allowed to work only 1,039 hours, just under six months, not including overtime. That makes them part-timers who are not eligible to secure health insur.ance through the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP). Until now." (The Washington Post)

ML Strategies Weekly Health Care Reform Update, July 9, 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.)

[Opinion]

Now It's Time to Focus on Health Care Affordability
"Now that the Supreme Court has provided legal certainty on the recent healthcare reform law, the nation must turn its attention to affordability. While the law expands coverage to millions of Americans, a goal health plans have long supported, major provisions of the law need to be changed to avoid significant cost increases for consumers and employers.... The law imposes a new $73 bil.lion sales tax on health insur.ance that will add to the cost of coverage for people purchasing coverage on their own, for small employers, and for Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries with private coverage.... This tax will add a financial burden on families and small businesses at a time when they can least afford it, and it should be repealed." (AHIP President Karen Ignagni via Reuters)


Understanding the Impact of Health Care Reform on Employers   [Advert.]

Sponsored by Lorman and BenefitsLink.com

This seminar will give you the information you need to move forward in addressing the issues, and insight into upcoming changes. Learn about the latest developments including what is currently being enforced. Discounted pricing for BenefitsLink readers.


[Opinion]

Text of Letter from U.S. Chamber of Commerce to Congress on H.R. 6079: 'Repeal of Obamacare Act'
"While the Supreme Court found the majority of the law constitutional, this ruling does not change the reality that the health care law is fundamentally flawed.... Left unchanged, this law will cost many Americans their employer-based health insur.ance, undermine job creation, and continue to raise health care costs for all." (U.S. Chamber of Commerce)

Benefits in General; Executive Compensation

Compensation Clawback Provisions Figure Prominently in Record GlaxoSmithKline Settlement Over Healthcare Fraud
"[The] U.S. Department of Justice announced the largest health care fraud settlement in U.S. history, an agreement with GlaxoSmithKline to plead guilty and pay $3 bil.lion to resolve fraud allegations and failure to report safety data. As part of the settlement, GSK executed a five-year, 123 page Corporate Integrity Agreement (CIA) with the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). One of the most significant features of the CIA is the Executive Financial Recoupment Program. Under the Executive Financial Recoupment Program, GSK will establish and maintain a financial recoupment program that puts at risk of forfeiture and recoupment an amount equivalent to up to three years of annual performance pay (i.e., annual bonus, plus long term incentives) for an executive who is discovered to have been involved in any significant misconduct." (Winston & Strawn LLP)

Agreements Containing Release-of-Claims Provisions Could Require Section 409A Amendments Before Year-End
"Employment agreements commonly condition severance payments upon an employee's execution of a release of claims.... [T]he IRS has indicated that the typical way these release provisions are drafted does not comply with Section 409A and that covered agreements affected by this problem that have been in existence since Dec. 31, 2010 must be amended before the end of 2012 in order to avoid significant tax problems for employees and employers." (McGuire Woods LLP)

San Bernardino, Calif., Seeks Bankrup.tcy Protection
"The city's fiscal crisis has been years in the making, compounded by the nation's crushing recession and exacerbated by escalating pension costs, lucrative labor agreements, Sacramento's raid on redevelopment funds and a city reserve that is tapped out, officials said.... Filing for municipal bankrup.tcy protection will allow San Bernardino to renegotiate contracts, including those with employees ... Current employee pension obligations, one of the contributors to the city's financial straits, will not be affected, officials said." (Los Angeles Times)

[Opinion]

Unfunded Legacy Costs = Big Trouble for Local Governments
"Too many local units of government in Michigan fail to fund in their current operating budgets' pension and retiree health-care (e.g. legacy) costs, as recommended by an actuary. Often, the refusal to fund arises as a concession to employee groups seeking to avoid an impact today that can be pushed into a future year's budget. But the future is now and legacy funding has become a staggering financial burden on many local governments. These costs are no longer merely the elephant in the room; they are a giant mammoth that threatens even core services.... The future of Detroit's next generation has been mortgaged." (mLive.com)

Press Releases



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