Employee Benefits Trainer
OneAmerica Financial Partners
in IN

Senior Account Manager
Summit Financial Corporation
in MA

Benefit Specialist - Health and Welfare
Lee Jost and Associates
in WI

Retirement Plan Processing Supervisor
ASPire Financial Services LLC
in FL

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Qualified Health Plan (QHP) Series - Plan and Benefit Template Scenarios Demo and General Q&A
June 3, 2014 WEBCAST
(Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS))

Qualified Health Plan (QHP) Series - Agents/Brokers in the FFMs
June 12, 2014 WEBCAST
(Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS))

Pension Plan De-risking & Terminated Vested Buyouts: Why Now?
June 17, 2014 WEBCAST
(Findley Davies, Inc.)

Executive Compensation Basics: Anatomy of a Deferred Compensation Plan
June 17, 2014 WEBCAST
(Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP)

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[Official Guidance]

Text of CMS Technical FAQs on SHOP Enrollment and Eligibility: Broker Issues and Transactions
16 Q&As dated May 27, 2014, including: "When will 2015 training for Agent/Brokers be available? ... Will the Federally-facilitated Marketplace (FFM) validate if an Agent/Broker is licensed in the State that the Agent/Broker is selling and effectuating policies? ... Can an employer change the selected Agent/Broker after the point of sale or enrollment? ... Can the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) explain how rates will be displayed to employers and employees in the Federally-facilitated Small Business Health Options Program (FF-SHOP) Marketplace? Will contribution options display as dollar amounts or percentage contribution amounts? Will employers be able to set one contribution amount per metal level? Can CMS set different contribution amounts per plan within a metal level? ... If an Agent is not certified with the Federally-facilitated Small Business Health Options Program (FF-SHOP), will he or she be able to access the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Enterprise Portal?" (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services [CMS], U.S. Department of Health and Human Services)  

[Advert.]

Form 5500 Reporting Update

June 25 -- This live webinar will help you understand when you need to file a Form 5500 and what you need to file, and will focus on some recent changes that may impact your filings. BenefitsLink discount.

[Guidance Overview]

July 31 Deadline for Payment of Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Fee by Health Plans
"For insured plans, the insurance company is responsible for filing Form 720 and paying the PCOR fee. Therefore, employers with only insured health plans have no filing requirement. If an employer sponsors a self-insured health plan, the employer must file Form 720 and pay the PCOR fee. For self-insured plans with multiple employers, the named plan sponsor is generally required to file Form 720.... Plans sponsored by all types of employers, including tax-exempt organizations and governmental entities, are subject to the PCOR fee." (McGladrey)  

Largest Privacy Breach Payment to Date Since HIPAA Enforcement Began in 2003
"As the case demonstrates, an accidental technical error can cause massive damage to network and data systems, exposing confidential information across the web with the flip of a switch or a disconnection. With thousands of patient records on file, health care organizations must be vigilant about network security and risk management procedures." (William Gallagher Associates)  

Majority Says They Haven't Been Impacted by ACA
"With open enrollment closed and the first year of the ACA's coverage expansions underway, six in ten Americans continue to say they have felt no direct personal impact of the law yet. Among those who say they have felt an impact, a larger share reports being directly hurt than directly helped by the law (24 percent versus 14 percent)." (Kaiser Family Foundation)  

Can I Cancel My Marketplace Plan If My Boss Decides to Offer Coverage?
"You can drop your marketplace plan anytime you like and sign up during your employer's open enrollment period for on-the-job coverage. But think through your decision carefully, because if you cancel your marketplace plan now you generally can't re-enroll until the next open enrollment period that starts Nov. 15." (Kaiser Health News)  

[Advert.]

BenefitsLink app for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch now available!

Stay up-to-date while you're on the go with the BenefitsLink App -- now available for iPad, iPhone 5, and iPod touch.

Narrow Provider Networks in New Health Plans: Balancing Affordability with Access to Quality Care
"This policy brief assesses the benefits and risks of policy options open to federal and state policymakers now reviewing requirements for plans' network adequacy. The authors find that no single policy can achieve the appropriate balance between insurers' flexibility to negotiate with providers and consumers' confidence that plans will deliver on promised benefits. Accordingly, the authors call on policymakers to protect consumers with a combination of regulatory standards, up-to-date information to facilitate consumer choices, and active monitoring of plans' actual performance." (Urban Institute)  

Mixed Bag of Enrollment Gains, Profit Losses for Top Insurers
"Aetna and UnitedHealth experienced the most gains from year-end 2012 to year-end 2013 -- 21.6 percent and 11.3 percent, respectively. Aetna enrolled 22.2 million members last year, while UnitedHealth enrolled 40.6 million.... WellPoint experienced a decrease of 1.3 percent in total enrollment, yet saw administrative services only (ASO) membership increase by 0.6 percent. Humana's total enrollment declined by 3.8 percent and ASO enrollment dropped by 2.8 percent." (FierceHealthPayer)  

Health Policy: The Multi-State Plan Program
"This policy brief [provides an update to an earlier policy brief,] based on the experience of the program during the first open enrollment period. This update examines how the concerns initially raised by state insurance regulators played out and whether the addition of the multi-state plans increased competition in states with highly concentrated insurance markets." (Health Affairs Blog)  

Same-Sex Spouse Exclusion under Health Plan Did Not Violate ERISA
"The court did not address whether ERISA preempts state laws which define spouse to include a same-sex spouse. Therefore, that question remains up in the air, particularly for insured plans. The court specifically noted that ERISA itself does not contain a prohibition on discrimination. Instead, ERISA's legislative history supports the conclusion that other Federal laws, including the Equal Employment Opportunity Act, apply to the provisions of benefits to employees." [Jane Roe and Jane Doe v. Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield and St. Joseph's Medical Center, No. 12-cv-04788 (S.D.N.Y. May 1, 2014).] (Benefits Bryan Cave)  

Prepare to Attract Rock Stars from Day One: A Framework for Considering Equity Compensation in the C-Suite
"If you know that you will grant equity to your employees, create an equity incentive plan the same day you incorporate your company.... When you initially determine the total number of shares that the corporation will have (the 'authorized capital'), don't start with a low number:... Before you even begin making equity grants, think about what amount of equity each level of employee should ideally receive." (Foley & Lardner LLP)  

Retired Executives Win Reinstatement of Terminated SERP Benefits
"[T]he district court sided with the executives, ruling that the company violated the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) when it converted the benefits to lump-sum payments and terminated the SERP. Faulting the company for its procedural violations, the court found that the company employees who made the original decision to terminate the plan acted as unauthorized plan fiduciaries by engaging in actions that were discretionary in nature." [Gill v. Bausch & Lomb Supplemental Ret. Income Plan I, No. 6:09-CV-6043 (W.D.N.Y. Mar. 3, 2014)] (Hodgson Russ LLP)  

Executive Compensation Basics: Anatomy of an Equity Compensation Plan (PDF)
45 presentation slides. Topics include: [1] Overview of award types: restricted stock, RSUs, options, SARs; [2] Plan terms: administration, plan and award limits, exercise price/FMV, change in control, award agreement structure; [3] Private/public company plan considerations and design trends: general securities law considerations, section 162(m), section 409A, proxy advisory firms/institutional investors, design trends. (Morgan Lewis)  

Director Pay Snapshot: Analysis Finds More Emphasis on Equity Than Cash Over the Past Year
"The median value of total direct compensation for directors in this sample is approximately $246,250, up 3% from the previous year. The pay increase was primarily driven by equity values that increased 5% at the median over 2013 levels; median total cash figures did not change.... Eighty-seven percent of all annual equity awards are granted based on a fixed-dollar amount, compared with 85% of grants at the same companies last year." (Towers Watson)  

2014 Signature Awards Deadline Extended
PSCA [Plan Sponsor Council of America]

MCG Grows Its Benefits Consulting Team
Marsh Consulting Group [MCG]

State of NJ Plan Re-commits to Prudential Retirement with New 6-year Contract
Prudential Retirement

Littler Launches Healthcare Reform Web Portal
Littler Mendelson

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