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Do’s and Don’ts: How to Draft Effective Restrictive Covenants & Avoid Traps for the Unwary
May 28, 2014 WEBCAST
(Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C.)

Health Benefits Laws Compliance Assistance: The Affordable Care Act, the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act and More
May 29, 2014 WEBCAST
(Employee Benefits Security Administration [EBSA], U.S. Department of Labor)

Health Plan/PBM Strategies to Manage Specialty Drug Coupon Programs
June 5, 2014 WEBCAST
(Atlantic Information Services, Inc)

The Challenges of Private Exchange Open Enrollment: A Case Study of Walgreen Co.
June 9, 2014 WEBCAST
(Atlantic Information Services, Inc)

Designated Roth Accounts and Roth Conversions
June 10, 2014 WEBCAST
(McKay Hochman Co., Inc.)

PPA Pre-Approved Plans Workshop - Corbel Document - Philadelphia
June 17, 2014 in PA
(SunGard Relius)

401(k) Plan Workshop 2014 - Philadelphia
June 18, 2014 in PA
(SunGard Relius)

Tax Forms Workshop: 5500 and More - Philadelphia
June 19, 2014 in PA
(SunGard Relius)

Facing the Retirement Readiness Epidemic: How to Design an Education Campaign for Optimal Success
June 19, 2014 WEBCAST
(Pension Consultants, Inc.)

Using Benchmarking Data to Set Out-of-Network Rates for ACOs, Narrow Networks and Exchange Products
July 23, 2014 WEBCAST
(Atlantic Information Services, Inc)

2014 IRA Online Institute
September 2, 2014 WEBCAST
(Ascensus)

View All Webcasts and Conferences

[Guidance Overview]

DOL and HHS Seek to Enhance Benefits Under COBRA
"Employers should also consider notifying individuals that may be eligible for the special enrollment periods ... [I]ndividuals that select COBRA continuation coverage tend to be higher users of medical services, which can increase the costs of employer sponsored plans. Thus, it may be beneficial to the employer for its COBRA eligible employees and former employees and any other qualified beneficiaries to take advantage of the special enrollment period to cease COBRA continuation coverage and enroll in a qualified health plan under the Federal Exchange." (Greenberg Traurig)  

[Advert.]

DATAIR! 5500 Filing for Welfare, Flex & Pension Plans

EFAST2 5500 filing with all schedules and SAR. Instant validation.
Includes customized web-based employer access.
(888) 328-2474   Sales@DATAIR.com   www.DATAIR.com

More Losses for Mass Medical Carriers May Shift Risk Tolerance for Employers
"Many small employers are now considering self funding their medical programs which will give them better access to data, more flexibility in plan design, and help to eliminate some of the fully insured Obama care taxes. Massachusetts however, has historically been a conservative marketplace for alternative risk models, with most employers choosing to fully insure their medical programs under 500 employees. That could change." (William Gallagher Associates)  

District Court Orders Insurer to Comply with ERISA Notice Requirements When Requesting Repayment from Providers (PDF)
"[T]he Court may appropriately issue an injunction that requires IBC to provide notice and appeal to PCA members that complies with ERISA. Furthermore, the portion of the Code of Federal Regulations that IBC cites does not require that only a 'plan administrator' or 'named fiduciary' provide notice and an appeal pursuant to ERISA. The regulation requires plan administrators and named fiduciaries to provide notice and appeal to claimants in accordance with a specific set of standards. [It] contains no limitation on whether and which other entities can provide similar notice and appeal, and IBC identifies no such language." [Pennsylvania Chiropractic Association v. Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, No. 09 C 5619 (N.D. Ill. May 19, 2014)] (U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois)  

Supreme Court to Review Rules Governing Vesting of Retiree Health Benefits under CBAs
"Application of the [UAW v. Yard-Man, Inc.] presumption to collective bargaining agreements has resulted in uncertainty for employers and retirees, inconsistent outcomes for collective bargaining agreements covering employees in different circuits, and forum-shopping by retirees seeking application of Sixth Circuit precedent. A Supreme Court opinion should resolve the uncertainty for employers and retirees alike and eliminate the jurisdictional gamesmanship that has long plagued these cases." [M&G Polymers USA, LLC v. Tackett, No. 13-1010 (on appeal from 6th Cir., cert. granted May 5, 2014)] (Benefits Bryan Cave)  

Sixth Circuit Affirms $5 Million Award for Breach of ERISA Fiduciary Duties by TPA of Self-Funded Health Plan
"TPAs and employers may find instructive the Sixth Circuit's analysis of the factors supporting its conclusion that the TPA held plan assets and therefore functioned as an ERISA fiduciary. Notably, the Court was not persuaded by the TPA's argument that neither it nor the employer maintained a separate bank account set aside exclusively for funds intended to pay participants' expenses. Although no trust was created in this case, the factors identified by the court, which included SPD language, were sufficient to establish the employer's intent to place plan assets with the TPA." [Hi-Lex Controls, Inc. v. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, Nos. 13-1773/1859 (6th Cir. May 14, 2014)] (Practical Law Company)  

IRS Considers Additional Employer Mandate Guidance
"Kathryn Johnson, senior attorney, IRS Office of Division Counsel & Associate Chief Counsel ... discussed the possibility of future guidance on the determination of 'full-time employee' and 'applicable large employer' (ALE) status in the context of a merger. There has been some confusion expressed over what should happen to full-time employees caught up in a merger of two employers that use different measurement methods to determine full-time employee status.... Johnson also stated that some clarification might be necessary on the question of exactly when a business becomes an ALE if it has been created from a merger of entities that hitherto were not applicable large employers." (Wolters Kluwer Law & Business)  

The $36,500 Per Employee, Per Year, Per Mistake ACA Penalty
"The federal agencies dropped this bomb on employers on the cusp of open enrollment season last year, and many employers had to scramble into compliance. You could have done the math on the $100 per day excise tax. But the IRS puts this $36,500 figure into a Q&A for a reason: it wants to scare you. And employers need to know that a non-integrated employer payment plan is just one of many potential triggers of these potentially devastating excise taxes." (Porter Wright Morris & Arthur LLP)  

Will Healthcare Premiums Skyrocket in 2015?
"There are several reasons to believe there could be significant premium increases in 2015, e.g., underpricing in 2014, increases in health care costs, and pressure to broaden networks. But the dominant force behind the surprisingly low premiums in 2014 remains intact -- the strong incentives for markets to be highly competitive, which forces insurers to set premiums aggressively to attain or retain market share. These incentives should be even stronger in 2015 with increased enrollment and a more stable risk pool." (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation)  

ML Strategies Health Care Update, May 19, 2014 (PDF)
"It is likely that CMS will continue to develop initiatives that include pricing transparency through alternative payment models like bundled payments and/or stand-alone initiatives like the physician and hospital data releases. Stakeholders, especially those in the medical technology and biopharmaceutical spaces from laboratories to drug manufacturers, have also been the subject of recent scrutiny. This indicates that future CMS efforts could further apply transparency initiatives as policymakers and commercial payers alike focus on innovative but very expensive therapies, devices, and diagnostics." (ML Strategies, LLC)  

[Opinion]

A New Management Structure for a New Phase of the ACA
"The marketplaces are a business that market health insurance, which requires management of the following functions: call centers, eligibility determinations, premium payments, setting rules for plans, soliciting and processing plan bids, appeals, marketing, and communications. The current crisis management is not set up to carry out all of these functions and activities." (Center for American Progress)  

ERISA = Every Ridiculous Idea Since Adam
"ERISA serves important purposes in our society, but it also presents tremendous challenges and potential liabilities for good-intentioned employers who merely want to provide nice benefits to their employees. In the last few years, it seems like the employee benefits 'gotcha' list -- of things that employers can do to accidentally violate ERISA (and other laws) -- has grown exponentially. Employers have a basic understanding that ERISA requires a plan document, a summary plan description, sometimes a trust, etc. But ERISA requires much more." (McAfee & Taft)  

Controversy Over Coca-Cola's 2014 Equity Plan Proposal (PDF)
"Many commentators have linked the resistance to Coca-Cola's proposed 2014 Equity Plan to the Company's failure to adequately explain the plan's fungible share pool and/or to shareholders not considering the Company's typical equity mix in assessing the likely dilutive impact of the fungible share pool. Neither appears to be the case." (Meridian Compensation Partners, LLC)  

401k Widgets Introduces New Hosted Pension Calculators and Information Tools, Giving Retirement Plan Professionals a Powerful Tool to Drive Traffic and Win New Customers
PensionOnline

TRA Restructuring Efforts Place Increased Emphasis on Client Service
The Retirement Advantage [TRA]

U.S. House Committee Leaders Seek Documents, Briefing Regarding Inaccurate Health Care Subsidy Payments
U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee

Leading REIT Provider Joins First Trust Retirement Lineup
DST

CPA2Biz Changes Name to 'CPA.com'
CPA.com

Mercer’s Health Care Reform Made Simple Microsite Wins an IABC Gold Quill Business Communicators’ Award
Mercer

CEFEX Introduces Strong Data Security Requirements Into Certification Assessments
Centre for Fiduciary Excellence (CEFEX)

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