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ESOP Economics, Inc.
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Benetech, Inc.
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Pension Corporation of America
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Aristotle, Hammurabi and an IRS Agent Walk Into A Bar: Case Studies In Ethics
May 8, 2014 in GA
(ASPPA Benefits Council of Atlanta)

Pensions: Facts and Opinions
May 13, 2014 in IN
(ASPPA Benefits Council Of Northern Indiana)

Affordable Healthcare – Redesign Your Plan for Cost Savings
May 14, 2014 WEBCAST
(CFO.com)

Realities of Social Media in a Regulated Industry
May 15, 2014 WEBCAST
(American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries [ASPPA])

Latest in ERISA Litigation: Spring 2014
May 27, 2014 WEBCAST
(Thompson Interactive)

The Good, The Bad & The Confusing: Three Dimensions to the Private Exchange Marketplace
May 28, 2014 in IL
(Worldwide Employee Benefits Network [WEB] - Chicago Downtown Chapter )

PPA Pre-Approved Plans Workshop - Corbel and PPD Documents - Dallas
June 3, 2014 in TX
(SunGard Relius)

One-Day Healthcare Reform Training & Certification Event
June 11, 2014 in GA
(Constangy, Brooks & Smith, LLP)

Population Health Management/Transparency: How to Manage
June 19, 2014 in GA
(Worldwide Employee Benefits Network [WEB] - Atlanta Chapter)

Form 5500 Reporting Update
June 25, 2014 WEBCAST
(Lorman Education Services)

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Supreme Court Grants Certiorari to Review Sixth Circuit's Pro-Union Inference in Retiree Health Insurance Benefits Cases
"In a surprising development, the Supreme Court of the United States granted certiorari on May 5, 2014, in M&G Polymers USA, LLC v. Tackett, an appeal that should resolve a split among the federal appellate courts over how to interpret the duration of retiree health insurance benefits provided under collective bargaining agreements.... The practical effect of the circuit split has been that identical collective bargaining agreements are interpreted in contradictory ways depending on where plan participants, their union and the employer end up in court.... While one can only speculate as to why the Supreme Court chose to address this issue at this particular time, recent changes in the legal landscape for health insurance may be a factor." (McDermott Will & Emery)  

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U.S. Supreme Court Will Consider Inference in Favor of Vested Retiree Health Benefits
"The case asks the high court to consider what has become known as the 'Yard-Man inference,' a judicial presumption that union retiree benefits are intended to be vested in the absence of specific plan or bargaining agreement language to the contrary (United Auto Workers v. Yard-Man Inc., 716 F.2d 1476 (6th Cir. 1983)). While Yard-Man has been applied in the retiree-friendly ... Sixth Circuit, other circuits -- including the Second, Third and Seventh -- have required stronger plan language to support a finding of vested retiree health benefits." [M&G Polymers USA, LLC v. Tackett, No. 13-1010 (on appeal from 6th Cir., cert. granted May 5, 2014)] (Bloomberg BNA)  

California Supreme Court Lets Stand Ruling that San Diego Can Change Retiree Health Benefits
"The California Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal over the city of San Diego's ability to change retiree health benefits.... [T]he Court of Appeal found the retiree health benefit does not fall under the retirement system because it is not a mandated benefit and is not funded by any assets of the pension plan. The court also looked to a precedent that said the health benefits are an employee benefit, not a vested contractual right. That means moving forward, health benefits won't be completely guaranteed for city employees headed toward retirement." (NBC San Diego)  

Workers Unhappy with Health Benefits as Companies Cut Back
"While nearly three and five workers are satisfied with their health benefits, the percentage has declined from 69 percent in 2007 to 59 percent in 2013.... The biggest percentage drop was among workers 50 and older with 56 percent satisfied with their health benefits in 2013 compared to 71 percent in 2007." (Forbes)  

Massachusetts Ditches RomneyCare Health Exchange
"A move by Massachusetts to the federal exchange would represent a symbolic blow for local Obamacare supporters. Massachusetts built the model of a state-run exchange in 2006, a result of the health care reform effort by then-Gov. Mitt Romney. The RomneyCare exchange, which helped the state provide health coverage to more than 97 percent of residents, became the template for the Obamacare version." (Politico)  

Does Expanding Coverage Improve Health Care?
"[If] every state that wasn't expanding Medicaid under the ACA saw a similar improvement as Massachusetts, how many lives would be saved? A back-of-the-envelope calculation, drawing on Kaiser Family Foundation estimates, suggests that more than 5,700 premature deaths would be avoided by the year 2018." (The Advisory Board Company)  

State Health Insurance Exchange Aims to Enroll 7,000 Small Firms
"California's insurance exchange said it's looking to enroll 7,000 small businesses next year as part of the federal healthcare law.... [O]fficials with Covered California said their online marketplace for small firms is fully operational and that more than 1,500 businesses had already created shopping accounts on the state website." (Los Angeles Times)  

Deaths Fell After Massachusetts Healthcare Overhaul
"For every 830 people who became insured as a result of Massachusetts' mandatory coverage and Medicaid expansion, [the authors] calculated, one fewer person died each year. That represents 'a 3 percent decline in the death rate in the first few years after implementation,' [said] lead author Dr. Benjamin Sommers of Harvard School of Public Health in Boston ... The drop in deaths was also larger in poorer communities that had a high number of uninsured residents before 2006." (Reuters)  

Per Capita Health Spending for Elderly Grows at Lowest Rate Among All Age Groups 2002-2010
"Average annual growth in per capita personal health care spending for the elderly was 4.1 percent from 2002 to 2010, the lowest among any other age groups studied ... [In] 2008-10 the largest difference in average spending growth between males and females was for the working-age group (19-64). In this period per capita spending growth for this group was 4.0 percent for males but 2.6 percent for females. A 3.7 percent decline in the birth rate in the period may be one of the causes: Growth in spending for females ages 19-44 slowed as they spent relatively less on maternity care." (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services [CMS], U.S. Department of Health and Human Services)  

Marketplace Health Plan Premiums Are Competitive with Employer-Based Coverage
"The average employer plan pays for 85 percent of people's medical expenses, on average, and costs $6,119 per year. The average platinum plan (the highest category of health plan in the marketplace) covers 90 percent of people's medical expenses, on average, and only costs $6,058 per year." (Families USA)  

[Opinion]

Health Insurance Saves Lives -- That Means It Improves Health, Too
"Past investigations of how health insurance impacts health offered conflicting results, but have also faced limits to external validity. Policy changes tend to only impact one payer (Medicare, Medicaid, VA) or population (elderly, children, HIV+ patients) at a time -- these are the vagaries of reality. Massachusetts expanded coverage in a much broader sense: the state extended Medicaid eligibility to those under 100% FPL and subsidized the individual market coverage for residents below 300% FPL." (The Incidental Economist)  

FRA PlanTools and The Lowenbaum Partnership to Collaborate on the Fiduciary Matters Blog
Fiduciary Matters Blog

New Guide for Defined Benefit Plan Provider Searches
Principal Financial Group

BrightScope President and Co-Founder Ryan Alfred Joins Employee Benefit Research Institute Board of Trustees
BrightScope

Congressman Phil Roe to Receive 2014 Public Service Award in Employee Benefits
International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans [IFEBP]

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