Part Time On Call Retirement Planning Consultant
for Diversified in CA, HI, MO, NC, UT

Pension Administrator
for Alliant Insurance Services, Inc. in NY

Director, Transamerica Research Foundation - Healthcare
for Transamerica in MD

Director - Relationship Manager
for Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. in AZ, OH, TX

Investment Consulting Senior Manager
for Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. in OH

Pension Analyst
for Benefit Plans Plus, L.L.C. in IL, MO

Pension Administrative Assistant
for Mercer Advisors in AZ

Senior Client Executive
for Diversified in IA, IL, MN, MO

Plan Administrator
for Dana Consulting Group in IL

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SBCs for Employer Health Plans Revisited: Compliance for Major Medical, HRAs, and Other Plans
Nationwide on October 24, 2012 presented by Thomson Reuters / EBIA

 

U.S. to Sponsor Health Insurance Plans Nationwide
"Supporters of the national plans say they will increase competition in state health insurance markets, many of which are dominated by a handful of companies. The national plans will compete directly with other private insurers and may have some significant advantages, including a federal seal of approval. Premiums and benefits for the multistate insurance plans will be negotiated by the United States Office of Personnel Management, the agency that arranges health benefits for federal employees." (The New York Times; free registration required)

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Medical Societies Join to Fight Insurer Prompt-Pay Lawsuit in Georgia
"America's Health Insurance Plans, a national trade association representing insurers, sued Georgia Insurance Commissioner Ralph T. Hudgens in August over the state's Insurance Delivery Enhancement Act of 2011. The law, scheduled to go into effect in January 2013, requires companies that provide third-party administrative services to pay medical claims in a timely manner. AHIP, which wants a judge to block the law's enactment, says the state has no authority to regulate self-funded health plans." (American Medical Association)

Employees to Face Health Care Sticker Shock
"Several industry surveys forecast a two-percentage-point increase in the number of companies offering only high-deductible plans in 2013 to about 19 percent, and a larger jump of anywhere from 5 to 25 percentage points in 2014." (Reuters)

Employer-Sponsored Retiree Benefits Fading Away
"[I]n 1997, 10.2% of private-sector employers provided health insurance to Medicare-eligible retirees, while 11.3% provided such coverage to early retirees. As of last year, those numbers had fallen to 6.1% and 6.7%, respectively. Health insurance during retirement also has been on the decline for local-government employers with at least 10,000 workers: 87.6% of those employers gave early retirees insurance benefits in 1997, while 81% provided coverage to Medicare-eligible retirees. Those numbers have slipped to 77.6% and 67.3%, respectively." (Investment News; free registration required)

Quantifying the Effects of Health Insurance Rate Review (PDF)
"Because many states had some form of review process in effect prior to the September 1, 2011 implementation of the ACA's rate review standards, the reduction in requested rate increases as a result of rate review cannot be attributed fully to the ACA. In states that did not have rate review programs in effect before the ACA, the new 10 percent threshold for review under the ACA may have discouraged insurers from proposing increases of ten percent or more to avoid triggering a review. However, there are reasons to believe that the ACA may have had an effect, even in states with review programs in effect before the ACA." (Kaiser Family Foundation)

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Evaluating Your Third-Party Administrator: Are You Getting What You're Paying For?

November 2 - live audio conference explores the key roles of third-party administrators, how to evaluate a third-party administrator and the key areas to be evaluated to ensure you are receiving what you are paying for. Discounted pricing for BenefitsLink readers.

Bundled Payments to Health Care Providers Generate Modest Spending Reductions
"Using more bundled payment methods is seen as key to giving employer plans a system in which they will compensate providers only for effective, efficient care. Bundled payments would give plans more reliability in what they are paying, allow them to avoid paying for unnecessary visits and strengthen their hand in avoiding payments for complications and errors, advocates say." (Thompson SmartHR Manager)

December 31, 2012 Deadline for Amending Deferred Compensation Plans and Agreements: Timing Conditioned on Employee Action (PDF)
"The recent IRS guidance focuses on those severance and other deferred compensation plans and agreements that condition the payment of deferred compensation on the employee's taking some action -- typically, executing a non-competition agreement, a non-solicitation agreement, or a release of claims. These arrangements are most likely found in: employment agreements; severance plans and separation agreements; change-in-control arrangements; performance pay arrangements; and equity incentive arrangements." (Reid and Riege, P.C.)

ISS Unveils Proposed 2013 Policies Focusing on Say-on-Pay Analysis
"It remains to be seen whether the proposed changes will address the criticisms of ISS's methodologies on peer groups and pay for performance. The peer group change continues to use industry codes even though the illogical peer group results investors complained about were produced by ISS's use of those codes. Additionally, many of the details around the realizable pay calculation are yet to be determined, making it difficult to assess." (HR Policy Association)

Class Action Lawyers Achieve Victory in Executive Compensation Litigation
"[S]hareholder derivative and class action litigation over executive compensation matters is on the rise and the plaintiffs' bar continues to develop new theories. Unfortunately, their latest theory involves efforts to derail annual shareholder meetings because of allegedly inadequate [proxy statement] disclosure issues." (Winston & Strawn LLP)

Miller Chevalier Focus on Employee Benefits, October 24, 2012
This issue includes: Health and Welfare: Upcoming Healthcare Reform Deadlines and Effective Dates; Qualified Plans: Upcoming Amendment and Disclosure Deadlines; Executive Compensation: Section 409A: Relief Period for Release-Contingent Payments Coming to a Close. (Miller & Chevalier Chartered)

First Circuit Enforces Plan-Imposed Limitations Period for Benefits Claims
"The First Circuit is among a growing number of jurisdictions that have enforced plan-imposed limitations periods. A plan-imposed limit may be useful to avoid lengthy statute of limitations periods or to create a uniform limitations period for a plan that operates in multiple states.... Plan-imposed limitations periods have been challenged based on plan or insurer conduct, ambiguous or misleading statements, or inadequate notice." [Santaliz-Rios v. Metropolitan Life Ins. Co., 2012 WL 3734344 (1st Cir. 2012)] (Thomson Reuters / EBIA)

Gabriel Roeder Smith's NewsScan for October 26, 2012 (PDF)
This issue includes the following articles: GASB Responds to Questions Regarding the New Pension Standards; CBO Releases Social Security 2012 Long-Term Projections; ICMA-RC/SLGE Issues Brief on Public Sector Retirement Plan Changes; SGLE Releases Issue Brief on Wellness Programs for Public Employees; and Pew Research Center Finds More Americans Concerned About Financing Retirement. (Gabriel Roeder Smith)

October ERISA Advisory Council Meeting Rescheduled for Next Month
The ERISA Advisory Council meeting scheduled for October 30-31 will be held on November 26-27. The location of the rescheduled meeting will be announced at the linked page. (Employee Benefits Security Administration)

AHIP Launches New Health Care Spending iPad App
America�s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP)