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August 14, 2012 Get Retirement News  |  Advertise  |  Unsubscribe  |  Past Issues  |  Search

Employee Benefits Jobs

Client Service Representative
for Associated Pension Consultants in CA

Pension Administrator
for Abacus Benefit Consultants, Inc. in RI

Defined Benefit Consultant
for The Ryding Company in CA

Pension Consultant
for The Standard in FL

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Webcasts and Conferences

"Troubleshooting Participant Loans 2012" Web Seminar
Nationwide on September 13, 2012 presented by SunGard Relius


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Medical Loss Ratio Rebates: The Clock Is Ticking
"Employer plan sponsors who received MLR rebates must decide, in short order, what to do with them. If the rebates are considered plan assets, employers must take action within three months in order to comply with the trust and fiduciary requirements applicable to employer plans under [ERISA]. Many employers will recall receiving demutualization proceeds from insurers in prior years; the requirements for handling MLR rebates are similar." (Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP)


Learn about Health Care Reform Requirements & Earn 2 CE Credits   [Advert.]

Sponsored by ftwilliam.com

Join us for a summary of Health Care Reform Requirements - particularly how these requirements apply to account-based health care plans such as HRAs and Cafeteria plans and much more. Click here for a full description of the webinar and to register.


Regulators Urged To Move Swiftly To Prevent 'Rate Shocks'
"Consumer groups ... said state and federal regulators should move quickly to set rules to protect Americans from health insur.ance premium 'rate shocks' and to prevent insurers from charging far higher rates in low income areas, when major provisions of the federal health law take effect in 2014.... Many of the recommendations affect insurers, who need to know soon how to design the policies they will sell starting in 2014, according to the report." (Kaiser Health News)

Employers Offer Insur.ance Policies That Reward Workers for Healthier Living
"Twenty-seven percent of 536 midsize Michigan businesses surveyed earlier this year tied incentives, such as lower monthly premiums, to health goals ... The average worker got a $329 reduction on monthly premiums, or $687 for a family, the survey found. The average extra monthly charge for smokers was $41. Within the next two years, 61% of the companies surveyed said that they would or were highly likely to tie incentives to health goals." (Detroit Free Press)

Health Insur.ance Companies Try Retail Approach
"Forget stuffy insur.ance offices in high-rises or sterile office parks. Health insur.ance has come to the neighborhood mall. Customers can browse health plans, speak to sales representatives about different insur.ance policies and get detailed health screenings, all under the same roof. The burgeoning individual policy market, which will get a boost from insur.ance-buying requirements in 2014, is the driver of this strategy, company officials say." (News-Press.com)

What If the Massachusetts Health Spending Goal Were to be Applied Nationally?
"In order to balance the budget, health spending growth must be consistent with the share of GDP available for federal health spending. Thus, [for each scenario described] there is a specific rate of growth in health spending that will exactly balance the budget.... [To] balance the budget and hence achieve a sustainable long-run fiscal future—we must choose a point in the triangle and none of the choices are comfortable." (Health Policy Forum)


Executive Forum on Creating A Culture of Health - October 8-9, Chicago   [Advert.]

Sponsored by World Congress

Shifting organizational norms and behaviors to embody a true Culture of Health results in an exponential rise in employee health, engagement and performance. Gain perspectives to restructure resources and chart next steps in transforming your workforce.


Groups Ask Florida Gov. Scott to Hold Hearings on Health Benefits
"A coalition of Affordable Care Act supporters is asking [Florida] Gov. Rick Scott to hold hearings on the issue of which health benefits should be covered on all insur.ance policies to be offered as of 2014.... At a recent meeting of the Florida Health Insur.ance Advisory Board, the group said, Insur.ance Commissioner Kevin McCarty declined to even discuss the issue. He kicked the ball back to Scott, who has declined to take any action to implement the law he calls 'ObamaCare.'" (HealthNews Florida)

Treasury May Jettison 'Use It or Lose It' Rule for Flexible Spending Accounts
"Comments on the potential rule change from Treasury and the IRS are due Aug. 17. So far, the IRS has only received seven comments, mostly from ordinary citizens who filled out a form on the 'Save Flexible Spending Plans' website. Despite the lack of interest in voicing an opinion (although some people may wait until just before the deadline to comment), Employee Benefit Research Institute senior research Paul Fronstin says getting rid of the 'use it or lose it' rule would be a big deal." (GovExec.com)

NAIC Delays Vote on Move to Hike Stop-Loss Attachment Points
"A proposal to raise specific attachment points in a stop-loss model act to a level that proponents of self-funding say would restrict smaller firms' ability to self-insure health benefits was delayed after an Aug. 11 debate hosted by the National Association of Insur.ance Commissioner's ERISA working group. The working group cited the need to study the proposal further. The Self-Insur.ance Institute of America believes the proposal—which would triple specific stop-loss attachment points from $20,000 to $60,000—is designed to discourage self-funding, and create an environment that will funnel more workers working for small employers into the insur.ance exchanges created under the health reform law." (Thompson SmartHR Manager)

Massachusetts Cost Containment Law Comes with Teeth; Insurers to Pay Surcharge
"The law takes effect November 15, 2012 with the goal of slashing an estimated $200 bil.lion from state healthcare costs over the next 15 years. For that to happen, hospitals and physician will have to cut their costs in half.... [A] $165 mil.lion surcharge will be levied against health insurers and a $60 mil.lion surcharge will be levied against larger hospitals in order to ... finance several provisions of the law, such as the $60 mil.lion to go toward a prevention and wellness program and another $135 mil.lion for community hospital infrastructure upgrades." (HealthLeaders Media)

GAO Reviews 19 Employer Surveys of the Effect of the ACA on the Prevalence of Employer-Sponsored Health Coverage
"GAO examined (1) estimates of the effect of PPACA on the extent of employer-sponsored coverage; (2) factors that may contribute to the variation in estimates; and (3) how estimates of coverage vary by the types of employers and employees that may be affected, as well as other changes employers may be considering to the health benefits they offer. GAO reviewed studies published from January 1, 2009, through March 30, 2012 containing an original numerical estimate of the prevalence of employer-sponsored coverage at the national level." (U.S. Government Accountability Office)

[Opinion]

Implementing the Affordable Care Act's Insur.ance Reforms: Consumer Recommendations for Regulators and Lawmakers (PDF)
"These materials were prepared to assist regulators, lawmakers, and the National Association of Insur.ance Commissioners (NAIC) during ongoing implementation of the comprehensive insur.ance reforms called for by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (ACA). The purpose of these recommendations is to convey the perspectives of consumer advocates on appropriate standards and guidelines for implementing these reforms, which will go into effect in 2014." [56 page list and detailed discussion prepared by 20 consumer groups, including American Heart Association, Consumers Union, Insur.ance Law Center at Univ. of Connecticut School of Law, and others.] (National Association of Insur.ance Commissioners)

[Opinion]

Accountable Care Organizations: Panacea or Train Wreck?
"Researchers note that delivering appropriate, scientifically justified services will produce better and more cost-effective results. The problem is how to get health care providers to offer only these efficient services. [Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs)] aim to do so by restructuring the financial incentives for providers.... Although designed for Medicare, the thrust of health reform is to encourage [ACOs] system-wide." (National Center for Policy Analysis)

[Opinion]

The Release of Massachusetts Health Reform 2.0
"As advantaged as the state was when it sought to expand health coverage six years ago—with a relatively high rate of coverage, broad Medicaid program, and generous amounts of federal financing—Massachusetts is equally disadvantaged to take on costs, with health spending that is among the highest in the country, a culture of expensive medical practice, and very politically powerful hospitals and doctors. Health care is one of the state's largest employers, and one of the few to weather the recession relatively unscathed." (HealthAffairs Blog)

[Opinion]

Deloitte Health Care Reform Memo, August 13, 2012
"Health care will be a centerpiece in the campaign for the White House and in each contested race for the next 85 days. A likely focus of attention will be a fundamental change in how the Medicare program operates, for example, a proposal for a premium support program that would allow seniors to choose a private health plan with some of their premium paid directly to the plan by the government." (Deloitte)

[Opinion]

Responses to Comments Received on the Draft Guideline Amendments to the Stop Loss Insur.ance Model Act (PDF)
"Comments were submitted by various interested parties raising a number of questions and concerns. The intent of this memo is to respond to and resolve many of the questions and concerns raised in the comment letters so that future discussions of the draft guideline amendments can be as productive as possible for regulators and interested parties both." (National Association of Insur.ance Commissioners)

Benefits in General; Executive Compensation

Multigenerational Employee Engagement Imperative
"[B]enefits played a stronger role in influencing employment decisions for Gen X and Y than for Boomers. [Recent] MetLife research noted that 54% of Gen Y said that if it were up to them, they would like to work for another employer a year from now versus 21% of older Boomers. But one critical commonality ... is a greater willingness across all age groups to pay for voluntary benefits." (Employee Benefit News)

Seattle's New Paid Leave Law Applies to Out-of-Town Employers
"All employers who employ at least five full-time employees (in any city or state) and have at least one employee who performs work within the City of Seattle must soon comply with Seattle's Sick/Safe Leave law. The new law goes into effect on September 1, 2012. All employees, regardless of whether they are temporary, part-time or full-time have the right to paid sick/safe leave under this law if they work in Seattle on an 'occasional basis,' or more than 240 hours within a calendar year. The location of the employer's business is not relevant." (Jackson Lewis LLP)

Plan Sponsors Should Confirm Credentials and Bonding for Internal Staff, Plan Fiduciaries and Vendors Who Deal With Benefits
"Adequate attention to these concerns not only is a required component of ERISA's fiduciary compliance, it also may provide invaluable protection if a dishonesty or other fiduciary breach results in a loss or other exposure.... Monitoring these compliance obligations is important not only for the 401(k) and other retirement plans typically associated with these requirements, but also for self-insured medical and other ERISA-covered employee benefit plans." (Solutions Law Press)

Press Releases



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