Client Service Representative
for ExpertPlan, Inc. in NJ

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401(k) Rekon Advisor Symposium - Pleasant Hill
in California on August 21, 2012 presented by 401(k) Rekon

401(k) Rekon Advisor Symposium - Tampa
in Florida on August 23, 2012 presented by 401(k) Rekon

 

Dropping a Health Plan Not Clearly Advantageous to Employers
"[A recent] study ... found that employers opting to drop their health care plans in 2014 and pay the penalty imposed by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) will not benefit economically in the short- or long-term.... The study ... analyzes four separate benefit design scenarios in which employers eliminate their group health coverage to determine how employers fare under this 'pay or play' system." (Society for Human Resource Management)

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Health Care Fight Far from Over for National Federation of Independent Business
"[The NFIB] has pinpointed three particularly onerous elements they believe can be made less burdensome for small business owners, either through legislative or regulatory action.... [1] eliminate the health insur.ance tax (HIT) provision, which levies new fees on insurers that the Congressional Budget Office forecasts will 'largely be passed through to consumers in the form of higher premiums for private coverage.' ... [2] the rules governing the employer mandate, [including how] part-time workers will count ... when determining whether firms are exempt from the mandate ... [3] strip down the minimum benefits package that businesses are required to provide for employees." (The Washington Post; free registration required)

New Survey of Customer Experience in Health Care: The Moment of Truth
"To gain a better understanding of consumer expectations, [this study analyzes data from] a national survey of 6,000 consumers across nearly a dozen industries. The [study] compared findings across banking, hospitality, airline and retail sectors to experiences and attitudes in the health care industry. Separate data for insurers and providers produced more targeted insights." (PwC)

State Health Insur.ance Exchange Laws: The First Generation
"Overall, the laws in the 14 jurisdictions vary, but they tend to show a common approach of according exchanges much flexibility in how they will operate and what standards they will apply to the insur.ance products sold. In all states, these 'threshold policies' will be followed by policy decisions, expressed through regulations, guidelines, and health plan contracting and performance standards." (The Commonwealth Fund)

What Employers Need to Know About Medical Loss Ratio Rebates
"If an employer received a MLR rebate with respect to one or more of its group health plans, the employer must analyze plan documents, including trust documents, if any, to determine whether the rebate constitutes plan assets or must otherwise be used in whole or in part for the benefit of plan participants. To the extent that employees are entitled to all or a portion of the rebates, employers must also determine the appropriate tax treatment for any resultant cash rebates or premium holidays provided to participants. The rules give employers flexibility in deciding how to use the rebate attributable to participant contributions—to provide a premium holiday or pay it directly to participants." (PriceWaterhouseCoopers)

Fourth Circuit Case Challenging Mandated Employer Health Plan Coverage Might Be Revived
"Liberty University, a religion-oriented private college in Lynchburg, Va., had its own case pending among the petitions from which the Justices chose in granting review of the Affordable Care Act (Liberty University v. Geithner, 11-438). Its case [challenging the ACA's individual and employer mandates] was not granted. But, after the Justices' June 28 decision on the ACA, the university's petition was simply denied review the next day. That denial, the rehearing petition argued, should now be withdrawn and in its place there should be an order returning that case to the Fourth Circuit Court, wiping out a ruling by that appeals court ... [which said that] the federal Anti-Injunction Act bars any court challenges to federal taxes before they actually go into effect and are enforced. The Supreme Court, in its final decision, ruled that the Anti-Injunction Act did not bar the challenges to the individual mandate [but did not address the employer mandate]." (SCOTUSBlog)

Report on Health Savings Accounts and Account-Based Plans
"America's Health Insur.ance Plans (AHIP) today released a new report that provides an overview of the latest data, research, and statistics on health savings account (HSA) plans. The report, Health Savings Accounts and Account-Based Plans: Research Highlights, provides data on the availability of and enrollment in HSA plans as well as information on average premiums, consumer engagement in health care decision-making, coverage for preventive care, and detailed account data." (AHIP Coverage)

Back To The Future For ACA Cost And Policy Analyses
"Less than a month after the Court decision, CBO and JCT's analysis adequately accounts for the short-term uncertainty facing policymakers at the federal and state levels. More information and analysis will give us a better picture of what will happen, and more flexibility by the Administration will help states to make the best decisions for their residents." (HealthAffairs Blog)

Determine the Health of Your Wellness Program by Measuring Its Success
"As part of their ongoing cost-management efforts, many plan sponsors have introduced wellness programs and others are exploring those options. [This article] explains the primary goal of wellness programs and why the expectation for instant reduction in overall medical claim costs by instituting wellness programs, or expecting wellness programs to "bend the cost curve" immediately is not realistic. However, wellness programs can play a pivotal role in reducing future utilization of health care services by achieving the right behavioral changes." (The Segal Group, Inc.)

Creating a Competitive Health Care Marketplace Using a Corporate Exchange
"Regardless of a company's historical approach to health care benefits, the time is right for employers to revisit their long-term direction and take a fresh look at benefit plan options. For nine out of ten employers surveyed, the future holds either a movement to a more demanding philosophy of employer-sponsored health care, or a Corporate Exchange. A health care exchange is a marketplace that connects insur.ance companies with individuals or employees wishing to purchase health insur.ance.... This white paper details how the Corporate Exchange works and how it can provide better health care results for both employers and employees." (Aon Hewitt)

American Academy of Actuaries HealthCheck, July 25, 2012
This monthly report on health care reform includes Academy Activities, Legislative and Regulatory Updates from Congress and HHS, Media Activities, and Upcoming Events. (American Academy of Actuaries)

Leveraging Employee Assistance Programs to Address Cancer in the Workplace (PDF)
"36 presentation slides. Topics include: Why is Cancer Important to Employers? Overview of Cancer Toolkit: An Employer's Guide to Cancer Treatment and Prevention; Employee Assistance Plan Recommendations; and Medical, Pharmacy, STD Recommendations." (National Business Group on Health and the National Comprehensive Cancer Care Network)

[Opinion]

Supreme Court Health Care Decision Costly to Small Business
"After holding that Congress lacked the power to compel individuals to purchase health insur.ance under the Commerce Clause, the high court blessed the mandate as constitutional under Congress' power to tax. This is a distinction without a difference for the small business owners whom we represent, who are left with a law full of new mandates and taxes that will only increase the cost of doing business as they struggle to make payroll in this sluggish economy." (Human Events)

IRS Contends Altera Corp. Wrongly Booked Employee Stock-Based Compensation Attributable to Offshore Unit
"The IRS, seeking $27 mil.lion in tax payments, contends that from 2004 through 2007 Altera wrongly booked expenses for employee stock-based compensation in the United States where the expenses were tax deductible, according to court records. The agency says Altera should split its employee costs between its U.S. parent and its Cayman Islands unit. Under this treatment, Altera would lose the U.S. tax deductibility of employee costs allocated to the Caymans." (Employee Benefit News)

No End to Exorbitant CEO Exit Packages
"While shareholders can often justify severance and pension payments, what really makes headlines is compensation in the form of separation agreements and payouts determined at the end of a CEO's tenure. In fact, only 13 percent of CEOs of Fortune 500 companies who left—either voluntarily or involuntarily—from 1993 to 2007 had a specific severance contract in place before they decided to leave, according to a 2010 study ... On the other hand, 47 percent received some kind of bonus at their departure." (Human Resource Executive Online)

Text of Statements before Senate Special Committee on Aging Hearing: Enhancing Women's Retirement Security
Panel Statements by Barbara Bovbjerg, Director, Director, Education, Workforce and Income Security Issues, Government Accountability Office; LaTina Burse Green, Assistant Deputy Commissioner, Retirement and Disability Policy, Social Security Administration; Kelly O'Donnell, Vice President, Financial Engines; Sabrina Schaeffer, Executive Director, Independent Women's Forum; and Joan Entmacher, Vice President and Director, Family Economic Security, National Women's Law Center. (U.S. Senate, Special Committee on Aging)

What Are Job Benefits Worth?
"Benefits certainly do add value to any job position. The problem is that it's not easy to quantify how much benefits are worth." (The Christian Science Monitor)

NH-Based Firms Retirement Solution Group and South Shore Administrators to Merger Under RSG Brand
(Retirement Solution Group)

CalPERS Names Anthony Suine Chief of Benefit Services Division
(CalPERS (California Public Employees' Retirement System))