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June 9, 2014          Get Retirement News  |  Advertise
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Employee Benefits Jobs

Regional Sales Manager
Pension Consultants, Inc
in TN

Account Executive II
The Principal Financial Group
in KS

Manager, Retirement Plans Admin Services
Ameritas Life Insurance Corp.
in OH

Client Relationship Manager
MullinTBG, A Prudential Financial Company
in CA, FL, IL, NY, TX

Client Relationship Manager
Castle Rock Innovations
in IL

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Webcasts and Conferences

Post-DOMA Issues for Retirement Plans and Fringe Benefits: Rules for Same-Sex Spouses and Domestic Partners (Session II)
June 5, 2014 WEBCAST
(Thomson Reuters / EBIA)

Qualified Health Plan (QHP) Series -- Open Q&A
June 11, 2014 WEBCAST
(Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS))

Plan Restatement and Redesign
June 17, 2014 in OH
(ASPPA Benefits Council [ABC] of Cleveland)

Seminar with Adam Pozek and an ASPPA Update from Ron Triche
June 18, 2014 in IN
(ASPPA Benefits Council [ABC] of Northern Indiana)

Compliance Informational And Outreach Forum - How To Do It Right The First Time
June 20, 2014 in MA
(Employee Benefits Security Administration [EBSA], U.S. Department of Labor)

Plan Restatement Issues and Design Possibilities
June 24, 2014 WEBCAST
(ASPPA [American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries])

Final Medicare Advantage/Part D Rule: Impact on Plans, PBMs and Pharma
June 26, 2014 WEBCAST
(Atlantic Information Services, Inc)

Fundamentals of 401(k) and Other Qualified Plans 2014
July 23, 2014 in MN
(SunGard Relius)

15th Annual Hawaii Seminar
November 19, 2014 in HI
(TRI Pension Services)

View All Webcasts and Conferences


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official guidance, jobs, webcasts and more.
[Guidance Overview]

CMS Addresses Treatment of Same-Sex Spouses Under Medicare Secondary Payer Rules
"Reporting is generally required for group health plans providing major medical benefits, although there are exceptions for health FSAs and certain 'small-dollar' HRAs. While insurers or TPAs are routinely required to make the reports, a limited number of employers, i.e., sponsors of self-insured, self-administered group health plans without TPAs, may be required to report. Employers may also be asked to assist their insurers or TPAs in compiling information." (Thomson Reuters / EBIA)  

[Guidance Overview]

Wellness Programs, Smoking Cessation and E-Cigarettes
"Nowhere do the final regulations address the role of electronic cigarettes (or 'e-cigarettes').... Is an individual who uses e-cigarettes a 'smoker' for purposes of qualifying, or not qualifying, for a wellness program reward? ... May a wellness program offer e-cigarettes as an alternative standard, i.e., one that if satisfied would qualify an individual as a non-smoker?" (Mintz Levin)  

[Guidance Overview]

Final Regs Issued on ACA Reporting Requirements
"Sections 6055 and 6056 require a significant amount of new information to be reported to the IRS and furnished to covered individuals. Large employers and others tasked with gathering and reporting this information should be preparing the systems now to help assure compliance. It may make sense to test the compliance with the voluntary 2014 reporting (in early 2015)." (Thompson Coburn, in Employee Benefit Review)  

Tenth Circuit Says a Leave of Absence of More Than Six Months Is Virtually Never a Required Accommodation
"Essentially, the court's logic boils down to this: step one is to determine whether the length of the leave request is reasonable. If it is not, proceed no further. If it is reasonable, then engage in a dialogue about whether other options are available, or whether other options might shorten the needed leave of absence. To support this analysis, the court cited to a later provision in the [EEOC's] Enforcement Guidance, which states 'six months is beyond a reasonable amount of time' to retain an employee in the hopes that a job which she or he can perform will become available." [Hwang v. Kansas State Univ., No. 13-3070 (10th Cir. May 29, 2014)] (Littler)  

Health Benefit Costs Growing at 7%; Employers, Despite ACA, Making Modest Plan Changes (PDF)
"Michigan employer health care costs are rising at an average of 7% after plan changes, up from 4% in 2013 and above national projections of 5.2% ... 38% [of employers are] offering CDHP as an option or the only plan choice. This is an increase of 9% over 2013 and 65% since 2010. Thirty-eight percent of local employers, more than double the national trend of 16%, are using spousal surcharges or excluding spouses who are eligible for coverage from other sources. Fifty-nine percent of employees elect dependent coverage for spouse and/or children." (McGraw Wentworth)  


[Advert.]

2014 Employee Well-Being Bootcamp for HR, Benefits and Wellness Professionals

Sponsored by World Congress

The conversation on employee wellness begins with the fundamentals. Take a fresh look at the evolution of wellness, innovative initiatives, and building programs founded on reconciling business goals with employee health accountability. July 23-24, Boston.



Private Insurance Exchanges: An Evolving Alternative Health Insurance Delivery Model for Employers
"79 percent of respondents felt the top priority was to offer competitive health care choices for their employees. Other responses included: Make choosing insurance plans easier and quicker (66 percent); Help them make better selections on insurance plans (65 percent); Offer more competitive choices (47 percent); Provide an online shopping experience for benefits like Amazon (43 percent); and Offer a wider range of benefit choices, beyond just medical, dental, and vision (43 percent)." (Wolters Kluwer Law & Business)  

Willis Health Care Reform Survey Report 2014 (PDF)
36 pages. "[E]mployers noted that they still feel that it is important to continue to offer benefits to their employees, although their distribution and delivery methods may change. Most employers' benefit structures for 2014 are similar to those of 2013 with many employers taking a 'wait and see' approach before making significant changes to their delivery model ... Almost half of respondents have already increased or plan to increase dependent coverage contributions at a higher rate than employee only coverage. Over one third (35%) of respondents have already applied, or plan to apply, a surcharge on spousal coverage (or exclude coverage) when spouses have coverage through their own employer." (Willis)  

Pay-or-Play: Think Globally
"Employers should pay special attention to employees who transfer between U.S. and foreign employers. For employees transferring to a foreign employer, special transfer rules could apply that allow the U.S. employer to treat the employee as having terminated employment (if certain conditions are met). For employees transferring to a U.S. employer, the transfer rules could allow the employer to treat the employee as a new hire, depending on the application of the regulations' 'rehire' rules." (Faegre Baker Daniels)  

Helping Employees Be Better Consumers for Their Health Care Benefits
"Create a consistent message about your organization's healthcare offerings and then disseminate information the same way you would a marketing campaign.... Encourage employees to meet with you face-to-face if they have questions.... Be a translator.... Make sure employees know where to go to find information[.]" (Employee Benefit News)  

Changing the Way We Pay for Cancer Care
"Although advancements in medical science have greatly improved overall life expectancy and the ability for many to survive a cancer diagnosis, a recent study predicts that cancer care alone will cost the American health system $157 billion by 2020.... [T]here are several ways that providers, payers, and patients can work together to establish a more medically and financially effective cancer care model that also reduce costs and inefficiencies in the system." (The Brookings Institution)  

Impact of Premium Subsidies on the Take-up of Health Insurance: Evidence from the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
"[This] research contributes to the evaluation of the ARRA subsidy's coverage impact and to a better understanding of consumer responses to subsidized coverage options through the [ACA].... [T]he ARRA subsidy is associated with a 15.2-percent increase in the continuation of employer coverage. This translates into a price elasticity estimate of -0.24, which is towards the middle range of elasticities in existing studies.... [P]art of the increase in the continuation of employer coverage was offset by a decrease in non-group insurance." (National Bureau of Economic Research [NBER])  

There's More to Wellness Program Return on Investment than Medical-Cost Savings
"For years, many employers implemented health-management programs primarily to stem rising healthcare costs. Today, with broader vision, companies seek to build a culture of health, safety, productivity and enhanced quality of life -- and they want these programs to enable that culture.... While it is still too early to know how this evolving 'culture of health' philosophy will play out, change is clearly coming and will greatly affect the value proposition of health management." (Human Resource Executive Online)  

They Annoy Patients. They Scare Docs. But Narrow Networks Might Be a Good Thing.
"A California Medical Association survey released in April found that 80% of surveyed doctors have been confused about their participation in a Covered California plan -- and roughly 50% of them weren't even sure how they ended up on certain plan lists. More than half think they lost patients as a result of patients picking the wrong plans.... [S]upporters of the model can cite Covered California's premiums, which were surprisingly low in year one of ACA enrollment. That was largely because some top-rated, if expensive, providers were left out of the exchange." (Standard-Examiner)  

Microsimulation of Demand for Health Insurance: A Method Based on Elasticities (PDF)
13 presentation slides dated June 9, 2014. Excerpt: "The model was expanded in 2008-10 to estimate additional proposals, including expansion of public programs, individual mandates, and further insurance market reforms, culminating in estimates of the [ACA]. The model is updated regularly to incorporate new data, the most recent economic forecast, changes in law or regulations, and technical improvements. Baseline estimates are published two or three times a year and are used for scoring changes to current law." (Congressional Budget Office)  

Right to Request Flexible Working Extended in U.K.
"From 30 June 2014 employees with 26 weeks' continuous service who wish to work flexibly for any reason may make an application which their employer must consider in a 'reasonable' manner.... Rather than viewing flexible working as an option for care-givers (who tend to be women), the government wants to create an environment where both men and women work flexibly for the benefit of their families, and where employers support all of their employees to achieve the ever elusive 'work/life balance'." (Orrick)  

[Opinion]

How to Pay for Only the Health Care You Want
"Structuring health plans according to value would give Americans the ability to buy whatever health care technologies they choose -- including, if they want it, unproven and expensive care -- without forcing others to pay for that choice." (Austin Frakt and Amitabh Chandra in The New York Times; subscription may be required)  

Benefits in General; Executive Compensation

2014 Say on Pay Voting Results
"As of June 5, 2014, 2,326 companies held Say on Pay votes in 2014; 42 companies have failed with an average 60% 'Against' vote; 73% of companies have received a greater than 90% 'For' vote." (Steven Hall & Partners)  

[Guidance Overview]

Before It's Too Late: A Retirement Security Newsletter from Phyllis Borzi, June 9, 2014
"Most workers will find that Marketplace coverage is significantly less expensive than COBRA. However, some employees may consider using COBRA as a bridge to prevent a gap in coverage until Marketplace coverage becomes effective ... [If] you or someone you know is on COBRA insurance right now, they have the option of switching to a Marketplace plan. However, this one-time change to move into a Marketplace plan is only available until July 1, 2014.... [It's] important to spread the word that the Marketplace is also open throughout the year for those whose circumstances change." (Employee Benefits Security Administration)  

Press Releases

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