Account Executive - Group Benefit Sales
for MetLife in WA

Senior Retirement Consultant and Actuary
for BTHR Solutions in DC, MD

Health & Welfare Benefits Manager
for Southern California Pipe Trades Administrative Corporation in CA

New Business Development/Sales Rep.
for Swerdlin & Company in ANY STATE

Plan Administrator
for San Luis Pension Consultants, Inc. in CA

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How Will the Election Impact the Affordable Care Act?
Nationwide on November 8, 2012 presented by International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans

Los Angeles Benefits Conference
in California on January 30, 2013 presented by American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries (ASPPA)

Differences Between Balance-forward and Daily Valuation Webcast
Nationwide on November 19, 2012 presented by American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries (ASPPA)

Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Plans Webcast
Nationwide on November 27, 2012 presented by American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries (ASPPA)

 

Summary of Benefits and Coverage Is First Step in Expanding Health Care Education
"As an employer, it is important to make sure you are asking all the right questions in preparation for distribution of the disclosure.... Make sure your insurer or third party administrator (for self-funded plans) is creating the disclosure for your plan. If you have an employer sponsored Health Reimbursement Account (HRA), make sure you coordinate the account funding with your insurer creating the disclosure.... If you are conducting a passive Open Enrollment, meaning last year's enrollment elections carry over, then the SBC has to be given 30 days prior to the renewal date. If employees have to make active elections, even if they are not changing their election, then SBC has to be provided with Open Enrollment materials." (William Gallagher Associates)

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How to Sell Small Employers on Wellness
"[T]hree out of four employers that have implemented health and wellness programs have realized a positive impact on their bottom line. Two-thirds (67%) say offering programs that help keep employees healthy would be the best health-related option received by employees, versus only 17% who favor allocating more sick days." (Employee Benefit Adviser)

Are Health Care Copays Going the Way of Dial Phone?
"[O]nly half of large companies tracked by benefits consultant Towers Watson still offer health plans with copays. Its list of 849 large companies includes employers with more than 1,000 employees, most with over 5,000. What is on tap for the other half of workers is the world of coinsurance -- paying a percentage of healthcare costs, which can range from 10 percent to 40 percent, with varying amounts for deductibles." (Reuters)

2012 Healthcare Tax Credit Calculator
"[This] calculator above will help you estimate your firm's credit. Just enter four numbers: (A) How many full-time employees your business has. (B) How many employees participate in your company plan. (C) How much you contribute toward each employee's insurance premium. (D) The average wage per employee." (National Federation of Independent Business)

1.2 Million Californians Have Lost Employer-Provided Health Care Benefits Since 2009
"The number of people getting health insurance at work has been steadily declining for years in the Golden State, but those losses accelerated from 2009 to 2011, when the Great Recession took a heavy toll on many businesses, according to study by the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research. In 2011, 16.1 million Californians had employer-sponsored health coverage, a drop of 1.2 million from 2009, researchers found. The percentage of Californians with workplace insurance fell to 49.7% last year, down from 56.4% in 2001." (Los Angeles Times)

Tax Credits Won't Drive Small Employers to Exchanges
"Small employers complain the rules are too rigid, and few of them qualify. Although employers with up to 25 employees are eligible, the amount of the credit fluctuates based on the number of employees and their average salary.... For employers that have more than 20 employees and/or an average annual payroll above $40,000 per employee, applying for the credit isn't worth the time it would take to complete the paperwork." (AISHealth.com; free registration required)

Preventing Common COBRA Compliance Mistakes: What to Do and What Not to Do
"Understanding your responsibilities when it comes to COBRA compliance is the best way to prevent expensive mistakes. The following do's and don'ts can help you get started. DO Count Part-Time Employees to Determine if COBRA Applies to Your Plan.... DO Stay on Top of Required Notices.... DON'T Overlook Qualifying Events.... DON'T Terminate COBRA Coverage Too Early.... DON'T Forget About State Law." (hr360)

Participants in Federal Employees Health Benefits Program Say They're Generally Pleased with Coverage
"Government employees and retirees generally are satisfied with the health care coverage they receive through the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program ... More than 90 percent of respondents to [a recent] poll characterized their FEHBP coverage as 'good' or 'satisfactory'.... [A] majority of readers (57 percent) considered their overall FEHBP costs, including premiums, co-payments and drug prescriptions, to be average compared to other national health insurance plans." (GovExec.com)

The Actuarial Challenges of Pricing Health Insurance for the 2014 Exchanges (PDF)
"The ACA introduces changes in 2014 that require actuaries to use much more complex models to develop premiums. First, the ACA will expand private insurance coverage ... Second, the ACA requires new benefit designs to be offered in 2014 ... Third, the law eliminates premium differentials by health status and gender and restricts age variation ... Fourth, the ACA contains three risk mitigation strategies ... [which] add uncertainty and complexity to pricing since the full design parameters are not yet known and actuaries have only limited data with which to model their expected impacts." (National Institute for Health Care Management)

Proportion of Those with High Medical Costs Unchanged During Recent Recession
"During a recession one would expect the percentage of people with high medical costs -- those spending 10 percent or more of annual family income -- to increase. But [recent study] finds that during the 2007-09 recession, the percentage of Americans under age sixty-five with high medical cost burdens was mostly unchanged: 18.8 percent in 2009, compared to 19.2 percent in 2006." (HealthAffairs Blog)

[Opinion]

Text of Letter to HHS, IRS and DOL Requesting Guidance for Stand-Alone HRAs (PDF)
"[T]he ACA prohibitions on annual and lifetime limits may hinder the establishment of stand-alone HRAs for many employers, an outcome which, in our view, runs counter to the central health reform goal of ensuring the availability of affordable choices for employers and employees. Additionally, the required contributions toward reinsurance payments ... would apparently apply to third party administrators on behalf of HRAs if an exemption is not available. Since HRAs are entirely funded with employer contributions, this additional fee would weigh heavily upon the employers who offer HRAs -- perhaps causing employers to drop this valuable tool for consumer driven health care. For the above reasons, ECFC respectfully requests that the Departments issue guidance to allow for a new excepted benefit category for stand-alone HRAs and offers some specific recommendations[.]" (Employers Council on Flexible Compensation)

[Opinion]

The ACA's Rhetoric vs. Reality: Determining Exactly Who's Entitled to Employer-Paid Health Insurance Coverage
"Just recently, the Internal Revenue Service issued an 18-page, single-spaced notice explaining how to distinguish between full-time and part-time workers under the Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare"). The difference matters, because the act requires employers with 50 or more full-time workers to provide health insurance for those workers.... Employers have a huge incentive to hold workers under the 30-hour weekly threshold. The requirement to provide insurance above that acts as a steep employment tax. Companies will try to minimize the tax. The most vulnerable workers are the poorest and least skilled who can be most easily replaced and for whom insurance costs loom largest. Indeed, the adjustment has already started." (The Washington Post; free registration required)

ISS Issues 2013 Draft Policy Updates (PDF)
"The proposed policy raises serious issues regarding corporate governance and the role of shareholders. Under most state corporate laws, shareholder voting on proposals is advisory in nature. Boards are not bound to implement or comply with shareholder proposals that garner the majority of votes cast ... However, both ISS's current and proposed policy requires boards to implement shareholder approved proposals or face a negative vote recommendation. ISS appears less concerned with corporate boards' fiduciary obligation to take actions that are in the best interests of shareholders." (Meridian Compensation Partners, LLC)

Text of 2012 Report to IRS by Information Reporting Advisory Committee, Including Employee Benefit Issues (PDF)
160 pages. "[The report by the committee's Employee Benefits & Payroll Subgroup makes recommendations about] (A) Employer and Insurer Shared Responsibilities Under the [ACA]; (B) Employer and Insurer Reporting Under the [ACA]; (C) $2,500 Limit on Health Flexible Spending Arrangements; (D) Health Care Valuation on Form W-2; (E) Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Trust Fund; (F) Integrated Plans; (G) Third Party Sick Pay; (H) Proper Reporting for Flexible Spending Arrangement improper payments; (I) Form 5558, Application for Extension of Time to File Certain Employee Plan Returns, Penalty Relief; (J) Employee Stock Ownership (ESOP) and Cash Balance Plan Prototypes." (Internal Revenue Service, Information Reporting Program Advisory Committee)

James Davies Assumes Leadership of Mercer�s International Consulting Group in Midwest
Mercer

Benefit Advisors Network Unveils Health Care Reform Estimator
Benefit Advisors Network