Chief Actuary
The Kagan Company
in CA

Manager - Conversions
Verisight, Inc.
in CA

ERISA Attorney
McKenzie Rothwell Barlow & Coughran, PS
in WA

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What You Need to Know About Plan Fees, Equalization, and Target Date Funds - Recorded
April 9, 2014 WEBCAST
(International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans)

Voluntary Benefits in a Health Care Reform Environment - The Missing Piece -- Recorded
April 10, 2014 WEBCAST
(International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans)

IRS, DOL and PBGC ERISA Update for 1st Quarter 2014
April 17, 2014 WEBCAST
(Erisafile Inc.)

401(k) Plan Workshop 2014 - Madison, WI
April 22, 2014 in WI
(SunGard Relius)

401(k) Plan Workshop 2014 - St. Louis
April 22, 2014 in MO
(SunGard Relius)

Tax Forms Workshop: 5500 and More - St. Louis
April 23, 2014 in MO
(SunGard Relius)

Ethics and Professional Conduct for Retirement Plan Professionals 2014
April 24, 2014 WEBCAST
(Erisafile Inc.)

ERISA Litigation National Institute
June 18, 2014 WEBCAST
(ABA Joint Committee on Employee Benefits)

Long-Term Disability Benefits Advanced Seminar
June 20, 2014 WEBCAST
(ABA Joint Committee on Employee Benefits)

View All Webcasts and Conferences

[Official Guidance]

Text of CMS Guidance for Issuers on Special Enrollment Periods for Complex Cases in the Federally-facilitated Marketplace after the Initial Open Enrollment Period (PDF)
"CMS will provide the following special enrollment periods for consumers to enroll in Marketplace coverage after open enrollment closes on March 31.... The special enrollment periods in the chart below represent categories of individuals that CMS has determined eligible for an special enrollment period under paragraphs (d)(4), (d)(9), and (d)(10) of 45 CFR 155.420. Categories that warrant special enrollment periods may be added in the future if other appropriate circumstances, as determined by CMS, become known.... Generally, CMS has determined that these special enrollment periods will result in prospective coverage effective dates." (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services [CMS], U.S. Department of Health and Human Services)  

[Official Guidance]

Text of CMS Guidance for Issuers on People 'In Line' for the Federally-Facilitated Marketplace at the End of the Initial Open Enrollment Period (PDF)
"CMS will process information related to paper applications received by April 7 to capture those consumers who were 'in line' with paper applications or whose applications were pending submission or review of supporting documentation on March 31. These consumers will be able to select a plan through April 30 to allow them time to receive an eligibility notice, and the coverage will also be effective May 1. Issuers will receive direction to effectuate accelerated effective dates for this group of consumers through the Health Insurance Casework System (HICS)." (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services [CMS], U.S. Department of Health and Human Services)  

[Guidance Overview]

Canceled Plans: an Extension, an Expansion, and More Changes to 2014 Rules (PDF)
"The new guidance allows the transitional policies to be renewed until October 1, 2016 -- which means that some transitional policies could persist through September 30, 2017. As before, the new guidance leaves it up to state regulators to decide whether or not the extension of pre-ACA policies will be allowed in their jurisdictions, and issuers must provide prescribed notices to policyholders in transitional plans each year. A further extension to 2017 will be considered in the future. The CMS letter also expands the class of policies that can be extended, addressing future potential cancelations proactively." (Milliman)  

[Guidance Overview]

Prepare Now for New ACA Reporting Requirements
"In addition to the information reported to the IRS, each covered employee must also receive a statement that includes the information listed above, plus the phone number of a person designated as your organization's contact person.... Like W-2 forms, the new statements will generally be due after the end of the calendar year. You must provide statements to individuals by Jan. 31 (thus, 2015 reports must be sent by January 31, 2016) and to the IRS by Feb. 28 (or by March 31 if filed electronically -- which is required if you must file at least 250 of these returns)." (Warner Norcross & Judd LLP)  

[Guidance Overview]

Final Play-or-Pay Regulations Provide Much-Needed Guidance for Employers
"The regulations address the extension of transition rules, applicable large employer status, full-time employees, affordability safe harbors and more. Large employers can avoid the $2,000 per employee penalty in 2015 by offering minimum essential coverage to at least 70% of their full-time employees. Employers in certain industries should be aware of the special rules applicable to them, such as educational institutions employing adjunct faculty." (Towers Watson)  

[Guidance Overview]

ACA's Employer Mandate: Top Six Play or Pay Traps to Avoid
"Neglecting to count 'Hours of Service' ... Ignoring other employers within the same controlled group... Failing to identify and measure variable hour employees... Classifying short term workers as seasonal ... Misclassifying independent contractors and/or temporary staffers... Failing to comply on the correct date." (Hill, Chesson & Woody)  

[Guidance Overview]

HHS Issues Final Rules on Transitional Reinsurance Program (PDF)
"The multiple payment rule does not go so far as to automatically exempt from the fee any plan that is considered 'secondary' under coordination of benefit rules.... The cost of determining whether the exemption applies may be more expensive than the amount of fees saved -- particularly in the case of secondary coverage such as a spouse enrolled as a dependent who also has his or her own employer-provided coverage. The regulations indicate that where there is doubt as to whether a plan is secondary, HHS would hold the plan sponsor harmless for failure to pay the fee to the extent the sponsor relied in good faith upon a written representation by the other sponsor that such sponsor provided primary coverage and was responsible for paying the fee." (Buck Consultants)  

Obama Administration Will Allow More Time to Enroll in Health Care on Federal Marketplace
"[A]ll consumers who have begun to apply for coverage on HealthCare.gov, but who do not finish by Monday, will have until about mid-April to ask for an extension.... The rules, which will apply to the federal exchanges operating in three dozen states, will essentially create a large loophole even as White House officials have repeatedly said that the March 31 deadline was firm. The extra time will not technically alter the deadline but will create a broad new category of people eligible for what's known as a special enrollment period." (The Washington Post; subscription may be required)  

One Hearing, Two Dramas: Supreme Court Oral Argument in Hobby Lobby Contraceptive Mandate Case
"[T]he ultimate outcome, it seemed, will depend upon how Justice Kennedy makes up his mind.... In the first drama, Kennedy worried over the plight of female workers, and he suggested that their interests could be protected with little cost to their employers. In the second he worried over the plight of corporations owned by families opposed to abortion and he implied that forcing them to pay for it would be wrong." (SCOTUSblog)  

Justices Seem Open to Religious Claims by Companies
"The questioning was sometimes technical but often unusually blunt and direct.... By the end of the argument, there seemed to be a tentative consensus that the two companies, both controlled by religious families, could be allowed to claim rights under the relevant law, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993, without opening the floodgates to objections from major public corporations." (The New York Times; subscription may be required)  

No More Half Measures: A Case-Based Approach for Addressing FMLA Abuse (PDF)
22 pages. Excerpt: "[T]here are a number of court cases (many within the last five years) that show there is more that employers can do to uncover and address employee FMLA abuse. This article is based on more than 70 such cases. The sheer number of cases -- not to mention the blatant FMLA abuse described in many of them -- confirms that FMLA abuse is a fact, and not mere speculation." (Littler Mendelson, in Employee Relations Law Journal)  

What TPAs Need to Know About Disease Management Programs
"75% of our healthcare dollars goes to the treatment of chronic diseases ... [M]ore employers are taking a closer look at workplace wellness programs that include disease management services... [D]isease management services can be carried out in different ways depending on the capabilities of the vendor and needs of the employer group. Programs may be software-based or managed by healthcare professionals. [Listed] are some elements of disease management programs TPAs offer[.]" (Healthcare Trends Institute)  

Expanded Federal Regulation of Navigators and Other Consumer Assistance Personnel
"The proposed rules appear to bar all forms of active outreach in communities including moving beyond the four walls of assistance and seeking out eligible individuals in public housing, homeless shelters, through mobile outreach programs, and other activities designed to stretch assistance into neighborhoods in an affirmative fashion. Are there alternative means for ensuring that outreach does not spill over into pressure tactics or other inappropriate conduct without barring community outreach so broadly?" (Health Reform GPS)  

Arguments Against Health Law Subsidies Gain Traction
"Two of the three federal judges hearing a challenge to the Affordable Care Act appeared open on Tuesday to the argument that people buying health insurance in the federal marketplace should not be eligible for tax subsidies, the first indication that the White House could be facing another potentially serious legal challenge to a central part of President Obama's health care law." (The New York Times; subscription may be required)  

Camp, Brady: Facts Show HHS Has Data on How Many People Have Paid Their First Premium
"New evidence obtained by the Committee strongly suggests that the Administration knows who has enrolled and paid their first month's premium. In fact, there is specific information about who has paid their premium that Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is collecting and using to make payments to insurers." (Committee on Ways and Means, U.S. House of Representatives)  

[Opinion]

The One Thing That Could Save Obamacare -- and the Obama Administration Needs to Do It in the Next Month
"The health insurance companies have to submit their new health insurance plans and rates between May 27 and June 27 for the 2015 Obamacare open-enrollment period beginning on November 15th. Any major modifications to the current Obamacare regulations need to be issued in the next month to give the carriers time to adjust and develop new products. If the administration goes into the next open enrollment with the same unattractive plan offerings costing a lot more than they do today, they will not be able to reboot Obamacare." (Bob Laszewski's Health Care Policy and Marketplace Review)  

Severance Payments Are Wages -- at Least in Most Instances -- for Purposes of FICA
"[T]he Court concluded its opinion with a paragraph alluding to the arguable inconsistency in the IRS's position. If the SUB payments made by Quality Stores here (and severance payments more generally) are 'wages' under the plain meaning of FICA, then how can the IRS continue to exempt from wages those SUB payments that happen to be tied to state unemployment compensation? There may be policy justifications undergirding the Revenue Rulings carving out such an exemption, as explained above. But how are those rulings consistent with the 'plain meaning' of 26 U.S.C. Section 3121(a)? ... Those Revenue Rulings may now be vulnerable, especially given the Court's broad reading of 'wages' in Quality Stores." (SCOTUSblog)  

Supreme Court Rejects Quality Stores
"[T]he Court expressly states that it does not reach the question of whether the IRS' current exemption under Rev. Rul. 90-72 (when severance payments are tied to state unemployment benefits) is consistent with the broad definition of wages under FICA. This is a big (although generally anticipated) win for the IRS, as it indicated in its brief that over $1 billion of potential refunds were on the line. This should be the final answer on severance payments that fall outside the limited exception of Rev. Rul. 90-72 -- they are subject to FICA (and presumably FUTA) taxes." (Groom Law Group)  

Supreme Court Rules Severance Payments are Subject to FICA
"[T]he Supreme Court's ruling ends FICA tax refund claims based on the Quality Stores case. This means that previously filed protective refund claims (or appeals of claim disallowances) will likely be denied by the IRS. Additionally, unless severance benefits fall into the IRS's exemption described above (which most do not), there is no reason for employers to file FICA tax refund claims for severance paid in 2010 or later." (Mazursky Constantine, LLC)  

Are 401(k) Plans Maximized to Help Individuals Reach Retirement Goals?
Mutual of Omaha

New Global Survey Finds Companies are Increasing the Use of Cash Long-Term Incentives for Employees
Buck Consultants, A Xerox Company

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