Health Benefits Law Attorney
Alston & Bird LLP
in DC

Manager of Client Service Team
JPMorgan Chase
in CO, KS

Benefits Communications Specialist
Employee Benefits Consulting Firm
in GA

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The Critical Difference: HIPAA Security Evaluation v HIPAA Security Risk Analysis
April 4, 2014 WEBCAST
(Clearwater Compliance)

Midwest Regional Conference
April 9, 2014 in IL
(Plan Sponsor Council of America (PSCA))

The Future of U.S. Health Care Spending: Why it Slowed and How to Sustain It
April 11, 2014 in DC
(Altarum Institute)

Longevity Improvements Strike Again - Strengthening the Case for Pension Risk Transfer
April 16, 2014 WEBCAST
(Institutional Investor Journals)

Mid-Sized Retirement & Healthcare Plan Management Conference
May 4, 2014 in MA
(University Conference Services)

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[Guidance Overview]

ACA's Impact on Financial Statements: What Every Insurer Needs to Know and Do in 2014
"Because of new premium stabilization programs, subsidies, and fees, insurance company CFOs -- and their accountants and actuaries -- will soon be engaged in a complicated process of estimating unknown future calculations, updating these estimates when additional data are available, closing out these accruals when funds get transferred, and ensuring that the results are reflected in the proper time period. Furthermore, these financial entries will potentially be subject to review from a number of external stakeholders such as [HHS], auditors, credit rating agencies, and state insurance departments. There are approximately two dozen new issues that must be mastered." (Milliman)  

[Advert.]

4th Annual Prevention & Wellness Congress - May 7-8 - San Diego

A revolutionary agenda that moves beyond Wellness 101 and lays out the framework for real discussion and real idea exchange through real employer experiences. Challenge the way you think about wellness and reposition your program. BLINK3 for discount.

What Rochow Teaches Us About Amara Remedies, and What It Doesn't
"The original Rochow disgorgement ruling ... falls outside of this framework, by going far beyond simply the proper use of Amara remedies to fix that problem, and is flawed for this reason alone.... [It] is important ... to remember that this is an outlier decision, one that should not be seen as demonstrating some type of inherent flaw in the Amara equitable remedies rubric which, properly used and confined by judicial development of case law to the purpose of solving the 'harms without a remedy' problem, is instead a valid and appropriate judicial interpretation of ERISA's grant of equitable relief. Rochow, in the end, is best thought of, in its rulings to date, as the McDonald's coffee cup case of ERISA remedies: an example of the need for judicial control over remedies, but not an indictment of the idea of having them." (Stephen Rosenberg of The McCormack Firm, LLC)  

CVS Sued Over Controversial Wellness Program
"CVS cashier Roberta Watterson claims the company made her disclose personal information, including her weight and level of sexual activity, threatening to charge her $600 a year if she refused. CVS' so-called 'wellness review,' first reported last year, is a fairly extreme example of a trend of companies looking to cut health-care costs by pushing employees into wellness programs. Critics claim such programs let employers meddle in workers' lives, unfairly penalize those who have difficulty meeting certain health targets and may put employee privacy at risk." (The Huffington Post)  

Potentially Ground-Breaking Class Settlement: Data Breach Relief
"This settlement is significant because, for the first time, plaintiffs in a data breach case who did not suffer actual damages are permitted to claim a share of the settlement funds.... [T]he significance of this agreement lies with the allocation of a fixed amount ($10 per year) targeted to funds that allegedly should have been devoted to data security investment by the defendant ... [E]ven though this particular case was directed against a healthcare industry actor, it would appear to be translatable to any other business sector handling third-party sensitive data, but especially those handling personal data (whether health or financial)." (Drinker Biddle via Mondaq; free registration may be required)  

2014 Stop Loss Database Shows Noteworthy Changes in the Market
"Among the key findings: [1] Specific stop loss deductibles range from $75,000 to $2 Million. [2] The most common specific deductible is $200,000, unchanged from last year. [3] The second and third most common specific deductibles were $300,000 and $250,000, respectively." (Segal)  

New York City's Paid Sick Time Law Goes Into Effect April 1, 2014
"Employers that already have paid sick leave policies should also review their policies to ensure that they meet the minimum requirements of the Act. Employers without a sick time policy should give serious consideration to adopting one in advance of April 1, 2014 or to revise their current PTO or vacation policy so that it is clear it encompasses paid sick leave. Those employers who have offices in other jurisdictions that have their own 'sick leave law' (such as Washington, D.C., San Francisco) will need to develop separate policies or coordinate a single policy that complies with multiple laws." (Herrick, Feinstein LLP)  

Organization Strategy Must Underlie Health Reform Decisions
"Employers should fashion their responses to reform after taking into account business strategy, HR strategy, preferred approaches to rewards and compensation; and attitudes about health benefits ... [C]ompanies trying to attract older professionals and retain them until retirement tend to offer a benefit package with complete health benefits. Businesses using unskilled labor, such as fast-food restaurants, may not need expansive health benefits to attract people to fill jobs." (Thompson SmartHR Manager)  

Health Overhaul May Spell End to Employer Coverage
"Ezekiel J. Emanuel, who helped devise the [ACA] ... expects the law to produce an unadvertised but fundamental shift in where most working Americans get their health insurance ... By his estimation, the proportion of private-sector workers who receive health care from employers will fall below 20 percent by 2025.... Avik Roy, a senior fellow at the conservative Manhattan Institute ... said shifts would be most likely among retailers and restaurants with heavy concentrations of low-wage workers eligible for public subsidies." (The New York Times; subscription may be required)  

[Opinion]

Letter from House Oversight Leaders to Treasury Secretary Questioning Treasury Authority to Unilaterally Delay Obamacare's Employer Mandate (PDF)
"[T]here are more than two thousand attorneys in the Department of Treasury, and the official responsible for tax policy cannot recall a single one inquiring into the legal authority for the employer mandate delay ... Furthermore, Mr. Mazur's responses are inconsistent with the Department's claim that it relied upon an asserted authority under Section 7805 of the Internal Revenue Code.... Information obtained by the Committee suggests that last year's decision to delay the employer mandate was made by the White House and not the Treasury Department ... We were surprised to learn that the White House Chief of Staff knew about the employer mandate delay prior to the head of the department implementing the program. This finding raises serious questions about whether the White House directed the delay of the employer mandate for political reasons." (Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, U.S. House of Representatives)  

Accounting for Stock Compensation Under FASB ASC Topic 718 (PDF)
"FASB ASC Topic 718 (Topic 718) is in substantial convergence with the International Accounting Standard Board's (IASB) final standard on Share-based Payment, except for transactions with nonemployees and nonpublic companies, and minor technical differences in regard to employee stock purchase plans, modifications, liabilities, and income tax effects. Topic 718 creates a more 'level playing field' for equity incentive design that is expected to result in the increased prevalence of full-value and performance-vesting awards, and a corresponding decline in plain-vanilla, tax qualified, and reload stock options, and employee stock purchase plans." (Frederic W. Cook & Co., Inc.)  

City of Pontiac General Employees' Retirement System Invites Submissions to Provide Third-party Administrative Services
City of Pontiac General Employees' Retirement System

fi360 and Castle Rock Innovations Announce Integrated Products Solution
Castle Rock Innovations

Year-End Retirement of President and CEO Joan McCallen
ICMA-RC

Lipper Names TIAA-CREF Best Overall Large Fund Group for Second Consecutive Year
TIAA-CREF

Pension Annuitization Attractiveness Hangs On
Dietrich & Associates, Inc.

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