EmployeeBenefitsJobs.com logo BenefitsLink.com logo

BenefitsLink Health & Welfare Plans Newsletter

August 8, 2012 Get Retirement News  |  Advertise  |  Unsubscribe  |  Past Issues  |  Search

Employee Benefits Jobs

Plan Design/Sales Consultant
for United Retirement Plan Consultants in IN, KY, OH

Benefits Supervisor
for Resources for Human Development in PA

Retirement Plan Administrator
for Martin Martin Randall & Associates, Inc. in AL, MS

Legal & Fiduciary Risk, Managing Attorney
for The Northern Trust Company in IL

Post Your Job on EmployeeBenefitsJobs.com

View All Jobs

RSS feed for jobs RSS Feed: All Jobs


Webcasts and Conferences

Webinar on Health Care Reform
Nationwide on August 23, 2012 presented by Phelps Dunbar LLP

Health and Welfare Benefit Plans 2012 National Institute
in District of Columbia on October 11, 2012 presented by ABA Joint Committee on Employee Benefits

Executive Compensation 2012 National Institute
in District of Columbia on November 8, 2012 presented by ABA Joint Committee on Employee Benefits

Stock Options & Other Equity Compensation Awards - Tax & Accounting Treatment
Nationwide on October 2, 2012 presented by ABA Joint Committee on Employee Benefits

ERISA Assets: QPAM and INHAM Audit Legal Requirements and Best Practices: Navigating DOL Rules for Pension Asset Management Compliance
Nationwide on August 29, 2012 presented by Strafford Publications

Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program and Abandoned Plan Program Webinars
Nationwide on August 29, 2012 presented by U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)

ASPPA Benefits Council of Cleveland - Full Day Seminar
in Ohio on September 11, 2012 presented by ASPPA Benefits Council of Cleveland


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

 

[Official Guidance]

Affordable Care Act Implementation FAQ Part X—One More Q&A About the Summary of Benefits and Coverage
"Q. I am an employer sponsoring a group health plan. One of the benefit packages is a Medicare Advantage plan. Am I required to provide an SBC for the Medicare Advantage package? A. No. Medicare Advantage benefits are ... not health insur.ance coverage and Medicare Advantage organizations are not required to provide an SBC with respect to such benefits." (U.S. Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and the Treasury)


DATAIR! 5500 Filing for Welfare, Flex & Pension Plans   [Advert.]

Sponsored by DATAIR Employee Benefit Systems, Inc.

EFAST2 5500 filing with all schedules and SAR. Instant validation.
Includes customized web-based employer access.
(888) 328-2474   Sales@DATAIR.com   www.DATAIR.com


Medicare Drug Plan Premiums Stable for 2013
"[T]he average premium for basic Medicare drug coverage will stay the same next year, $30 a month. That's the third year in a row of little or no change. In addition, Medicare recipients with high prescription costs are saving an average of $629 apiece thanks to a provision of the new health care law that gradually eliminates a coverage gap called the 'doughnut hole.'" (AP via Yahoo News)

Employer's 'Honest Suspicion' of FMLA Abuse Enough to Dismiss FMLA Claims
"What's interesting about this case is the employer's use of surveillance to support its position that it had an honest suspicion Scruggs was not using FMLA leave for its intended purpose. I think we are likely to see more of these honest suspicion cases in the future as employers continue to fight FMLA abuse. But employers, beware! When you are presented with evidence of suspected abuse, it is critical that you independently investigate the issue before taking action." (FMLA Insights)

Employers Expect 7 Percent Growth in Cost of Health Benefits
"As employers brace to absorb cost increases in employee health benefits, many are also experimenting with new ways to control these expenses ... [A recent survey] of 82 large employers ... with between 5,000 and 100,000 employees—on average are budgeting for a 7 percent increase in the cost of health benefits in 2013—the same as 2012, but lower than the growth of costs in the previous three years." (National Center for Policy Analysis)

Use of Incentives Grows as U.S. Employers Look to Improve Workforce Health and Productivity
"Aon Hewitt's survey of nearly 2,000 U.S. employers representing over 20 mil.lion U.S. employees and their dependents found that 84 percent now offer employees incentives for participating in a health risk questionnaire (HRQ) and almost two-thirds (64 percent) offer an incentive for participation in biometric screenings.... In 2012, 59 percent of employers used monetary incentives to promote participation in wellness and health improvement programs, up from 37 percent in 2011. The use of monetary incentives for participating in disease/condition management programs almost tripled in 2012, from 17 percent in 2011 to 54 percent[.]" (Aon Hewitt)


The Rising Cost of Commuting: Developing a Transportation Benefits Plan   [Advert.]

Sponsored by Lorman and BenefitsLink.com

Learn how to help your employees pay for their rising commuting expenses, with tax-free dollars. Join us to discuss solutions to the rising costs of commuting. Discounted pricing for BenefitsLink readers.


The ACA Fitness and Wellness Provisions You May Have Missed
"Beginning in 2014, the health-care law will allow employers to increase incentives for participation in programs that require an employee to achieve an agreed-upon wellness goal, such as giving up tobacco or losing a certain amount of weight. The incentive can be as much as 30 percent of an employee's insur.ance costs, and in some cases as much as 50 percent. That is up from 20 percent allowed by law now." (The Washington Post; free registration required)

HHS Q&As Address Nondiscrimination Rules for Health Programs and Activities under Health Care Reform
"On August 6, 2012, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued questions and answers (Q&As) addressing Section 1557 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). Among other things, the Q&As state that Section 1557 [which prohibits individuals from being excluded from participation in, being denied the benefits of, or being subject to discrimination under any health program or activity that receives federal financial assistance (including credits, subsidies or insur.ance contracts)] prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender identity and se.x stereotyping, and that transition related surgery is not required to be covered by health insurers." (Practical Law Company)

Massachusetts Reclaims Its Trendsetting Title for Health Reform—or Does It?
"The question of how to put costs into health reform planning is one that has escaped many designs, including for the most part the federal reform law. Many see Massachusetts as the harbinger of things to come, since the state that first attacked its coverage problem is now on the record as acting on its health care cost predicament.... The question here is how much of a role model is Massachusetts for other states and the federal government in the area of health reform?" (AISHealth.com)

Health Reform Means Different Things for FSAs and HSAs
"There is some persistent confusion over what the implementation of the health reform law means for health flexible spending accounts and health savings accounts. The short answer is that with one exception, employers and plan administrators must follow different steps for health FSAs and HSAs. Understanding these steps is crucial, because the time to prepare plan documents and policies for the next plan year is fast approaching—especially if a plan does not operate on a calendar year and its plan year begins before Jan. 1." (Thompson SmartHR Manager)

Administrator's Benefit Denial Upheld After Participant Failed to Provide Records
"A plan administrator's decision denying a participant's claim for disability benefits based on a suspected disqualifying pre-existing condition and the participant's failure to provide requested documentation was not an abuse of discretion, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi [has] ruled (Scott v. Hartford Life and Accident Insur.ance Co., S.D. Miss., No. 2:10-cv-00220-KS -MTP, 8/3/12)." (Bloomberg BNA)

Medical Loss Ratio Rebates Require Employer Action (PDF)
"[A]n employer must determine the extent to which the amounts received must be treated as 'plan assets' under ERISA.... When the plan document is silent, the focus should be on how the employer determines the amount that employees will pay for the coverage. Once the contribution strategy is identified, the appropriate approach to apportionment can be determined." (Buck Consultants)

Use of Flexible Benefits Continues to Rise
"The survey [by Aon Hewitt] found that use of flexible benefits plans is both widespread and on the increase, with 62% of employers currently offering flexible benefits packages and a further 21% planning to do so in the future.... Additionally, the survey revealed a preference for outsourcing the administration of flex schemes, with 60% of respondents opting to outsource the administration of flexible benefits. Encouragingly, 85% of employers that outsource administration are satisfied with the service they receive, compared to 50% for companies that manage administration in house." (Aon Hewitt)

[Opinion]

Continuing Problems with Health Care Law
"The insur.ance rebates do not apply to self-insured companies—accounting for over 100 mil.lion insured Americans—60% of the entire commercial market. The other rebates come directly to business owners and not to employees. The moral imperative of an essential health benefit package, as Senator Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) and I noted in a recent op-ed, also does not apply to these same families, and the packages will continue to vary significantly by state." (The Hill)

[Opinion]

With Health Care Costs, the U.S. Is a Huge Outlier
"[By 2010, the] United States spent about $7,500 per capita on health care compared to an average of $3,300 in other rich countries. If the nation obtained better-than-average health outcomes in exchange for its much-higher-than-average health spending, we would have little reason to complain. However, there is almost no evidence U.S. health outcomes are better than those in other rich countries. A variety of statistics on mortality and morbidity suggest outcomes may be worse in this country than they are elsewhere." (Lincoln Institute of Land Policy)

[Opinion]

Deloitte Health Care Reform Memo, August 6, 2012
"Last week marked the 47th anniversary of [Medicare's] signing by President Johnson.... In 1965, the conditions were different. National health expenditures were not a major part of the federal budget nor was health care a high profile industry... Those eligible for Medicare represented only 10 percent of the population and lived about five years after they turned 65... The costs of the program were readily absorbed in a robust economy wherein most workers were covered by some form of coverage... Times have changed: our economy is weak, 15 percent of the U.S. population is enrolled today—increasing 7,600/day as 76 mil.lion Boomers will hit their 65th birthdays over the next 20 years. And new enrollees now live longer—on average, 13 years after enrollment—and the costs for their medicines, technologies, and services are increasing faster than the overall economy. Then v. now: the facts are compelling[.]" [Article includes extensive charts and statistics about Medicare and health care costs and usage.] (Deloitte)

Benefits in General; Executive Compensation

[Opinion]

Yet Another Benefits Boost at the California Capitol?
"[A bill now pending before the California Senate] removes the statute of limitations for job-related survivor death benefits for ... current firefighters, police officers, prison guards and other public safety workers but retirees as well.... Its practical effect is to give every police officer, every firefighter, every prison guard or park ranger a taxpayer-funded life insur.ance policy. To pay for that extraordinary benefit, services will have to be cut. In some jurisdictions, even police and firefighters could be laid off to pay for it." (Sacramento Bee)



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

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

Copyright © 2012 BenefitsLink.com, Inc. All rights reserved, but feel free to forward this newsletter if done without modification in any way.

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.

Useful links: