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July 22, 2014          Get Retirement News  |  Advertise
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Employee Benefits Jobs

Broker
Saunders Financial
in FL

Asset Growth and Retention Specialist
Christian Retirement Ministries
in CO

Vice President - Documents & ERISA Compliance
MBM Advisors, Inc.
in TX

Director, Marketing
Transamerica Retirement Solutions
in CA, NY

Retirement Services Specialist
FFGA
in TX

Retirement Plan Administrator II
Fulton Financial Corporation
in PA

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Webcasts and Conferences

The Latest in Compensation and Benefits Accounting
July 30, 2014 WEBCAST
(PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP)

Spanish-Language Affordable Care Act 101 for Small Employers
August 5, 2014 WEBCAST
(U.S. Small Business Administration [SBA])

What the New Healthcare Law Means for Your Small Business
August 7, 2014 WEBCAST
(Small Business Majority)

Spanish-Language Affordable Care Act 101 for Small Employers
August 19, 2014 WEBCAST
(U.S. Small Business Administration [SBA])

Health Benefits Laws Compliance Assistance Seminar
August 20, 2014 in WA
(Employee Benefits Security Administration [EBSA], U.S. Department of Labor)

Cash Balance Plans - Prospects, Design and Administration
August 26, 2014 WEBCAST
(NIPA [National Institute of Pension Administrators])

Health Benefits Laws Compliance Assistance Seminar
September 9, 2014 in CA
(Employee Benefits Security Administration [EBSA], U.S. Department of Labor)

Medical Devices Summit Midwest
October 1, 2014 in MN
(Opal Events)

View All Webcasts and Conferences


  LinkedIn   Twitter   Facebook Hand-picked links to the web's best news articles,
official guidance, jobs, webcasts and more.
[Guidance Overview]

Updated EEOC Enforcement Guidance Impacts Health Benefits
"If the plan covers preexisting conditions, it must cover the costs of an insured employee's preexisting pregnancy.... If the plan covers a certain percentage of the medical costs for non-pregnancy-related conditions, it must cover the same percentage of recoverable costs for pregnancy-related conditions. If the medical benefits are subject to a deductible, pregnancy-related medical costs may not be subject to a higher deductible.... [Employers] need not provide the same level of medical coverage to their employees' wives as they provide to female employees." (Practical Law Company)  


[Advert.]

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FSA, DCAP, Full-Flex, HRA, HSA, 132(f)
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[Guidance Overview]

San Francisco Bay Area Employers Must Provide Commuter Benefits by September 30
"Employers with at least 50 full-time employees in the San Francisco Bay Area must offer commuter benefits, such as payments for commuter transit passes made with employees' pre-tax earnings, to any employee who works at least 20 hours per week no later than September 30, 2014. Covered employers also must communicate commuter benefits information to employees, designate a commuter benefits coordinator, and register with the Bay Area Commuter Benefits Program[.]" (Jackson Lewis P.C.)  

Text of D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals Opinion: ACA Subsidies Are NOT Legally Allowed for Policies Purchased on Federally-Run Exchanges (PDF)
72 pages. Excerpt: "We conclude that appellants have the better of the argument: a federal Exchange is not an 'Exchange established by the State,' and section 36B does not authorize the IRS to provide tax credits for insurance purchased on federal Exchanges. We reach this conclusion by the following path: First, we examine section 36B in light of sections 1311 and 1321, which authorize the establishment of state and federal Exchanges, respectively, and conclude that section 36B plainly distinguishes Exchanges established by states from those established by the federal government. We then consider the government's arguments that this construction generates absurd results but find that it does not render other provisions of the ACA unworkable, let alone so unreasonable as to justify disregarding section 36B's plain meaning. Finally, turning to the ACA's purpose and legislative history, we find that the government again comes up short in its efforts to overcome the statutory text." [Halbig v. Burwell, No. 14-5018 (D.C. Cir. July 22, 2014)] (U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit)  

Text of Fourth Circuit Opinion: ACA Subsidies ARE Legally Allowed for Policies Purchased on Federally-Run Exchanges (PDF)
46 pages. Excerpt: "Having examined the plain language and context of the most relevant statutory sections, the context and structure of related provisions, and the legislative history of the Act, we are unable to say definitively that Congress limited the premium tax credits to individuals living in states with state-run Exchanges.... What we must decide is whether the statute permits the IRS to decide whether the tax credits would be available on federal Exchanges. In answering this question in the affirmative we are primarily persuaded by the IRS Rule's advancement of the broad policy goals of the Act... Confronted with the Act's ambiguity, the IRS crafted a rule ensuring the credits' broad availability and furthering the goals of the law. In the face of this permissible construction, we must defer to the IRS Rule." [King v. Burwell, No. 14-1158 (4th Cir. July 22, 2014)] (U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit)  

Appellate Courts Issue Conflicting Opinions on Legality of ACA Subsidies
"The White House rejected the [District of Columbia] court's ruling and anticipated that the Justice Department will ask that the entire appeals court review it. Mr. Obama's aides noted that two district courts have thrown out similar lawsuits and therefore argued that judicial opinions have been mixed at worst. Moreover, they said the ruling Tuesday seemed to fly in the face of common sense." (The New York Times; subscription may be required)  

Major New Setback for the Affordable Care Act
"Conceding that the ruling will sharply reduce the number of uninsured individuals who will be able to gain coverage under the Affordable Care Act, the Circuit Court majority said the plain language of the Act is that the subsidies -- in the form of tax credits to those with limited incomes were to be available only on marketplaces 'established by the state.'" [Halbig v. Burwell, No. 14-5018 (D.C. Cir. July 22, 2014)] (SCOTUSblog)  

D.C. Federal Appeals Court Deals Major Blow to ACA: No Subsidies for Insurance Purchased on Federal Exchanges
"The three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals sided with plaintiffs who argued that the language of the law barred the government from giving subsidies to people in states that chose not to set up their own insurance marketplaces. Twenty-seven states, most with Republican leaders who oppose the law, decided against setting up marketplaces, and another nine states partially opted out.... [If] subsidies for half the states are barred, it represents a potentially crippling blow to the health-care law, which relies on the subsidies to make insurance affordable for millions of low- and middle-income Americans." [Halbig v. Burwell, No. 14-5018 (D.C. Cir. July 22, 2014)] (The Washington Post; subscription may be required)  

North Carolina to Decide on New Health Insurance Option for Some State Workers
"[S]tate agencies must absorb the cost of covering temporary employees who work 30 or more hours a week. The category could include as many as 24,000 employees statewide, though that number may be reduced significantly once state agencies determine their personnel needs and workers' eligibility under federal guidelines.... The Senate budget allows the UNC system to go it alone and put out bids for its own plan for these workers ... The House budget requires that all employees in the category statewide be covered under a new option in the State Health Plan." (The News and Observer)  

GAO Report Addresses Use of Credit Cards to Pay for Medical Services Not Covered by Insurance
"Medical credit cards received increased attention after enforcement actions in 2013 against GE Capital Retail Bank in relation to its CareCredit product.... GAO was asked to review the marketplace for medical credit cards and related products. This report describes the participants and products in this marketplace. To address these objectives, GAO conducted a literature review and reviewed websites, product terms and conditions, and other publicly available information." (U.S. Government Accountability Office [GAO])  

IT Strategist Says Health Insurance Exchanges Face More Pain
"[G]etting the public exchanges systems to work properly could take three to five years, in part because of the exchange systems will have to connect with what, at least for now, are antiquated systems that rely heavily on floppy disks and COBOL." (LifeHealthPro)  

[Opinion]

Plaintiffs Prevail in Halbig v. Burwell: Winners Outnumber Losers by More than Ten to One
[Editor's note: The article was written prior to the July 22 opinion finding in favor of the plaintiffs.] "In the 36 states with federal Exchanges, a Halbig victory would free 250,000 firms and 57 million employees from the PPACA's employer mandate.... The number of winners under a Halbig victory is therefore more than ten times larger than the 5 million people who would lose an illegal subsidy." (Cato Institute)  

Benefits in General; Executive Compensation

Multiemployer Trustee Selection and Orientation: 2014 Survey Results
[Infographic] "Of the 230 fund representatives that completed the survey, nearly 60% believe that it is more challenging to be a trustee today, as compared to decades ago due to personal liability, fiduciary liability, finding a work-life balance and constantly changing regulations. The majority also find that it is more difficult today to recruit both labor and management trustees, and that it takes between three and five years to develop a competent trustee." [The full survey results are online.\ (International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans [IFEBP])  

State Law Reporting and Disclosure Mandates Under ERISA
20 pages. "ERISA permits a state-law reporting or disclosure mandate that implements a state law that is not otherwise preempted, but only to the extent the mandate is needed for the effective administration of such state law. ERISA preempts all other reporting and disclosure mandates. This article uses those principles to answer the question, 'Which State-Law Reporting and Disclosure Mandates Does ERISA Permit that Relate to State Criminal Laws, Insurance Laws, Health Care Laws, Tax Laws, Domestic Relations Laws, Labor Laws, or Other State Laws?'" (Albert Feuer in Bloomberg BNA Tax Management, via SSRN)  

First Circuit Decision on Use of Retained Asset Accounts to Pay Life Insurance Benefits Could Have Broader Implications
"Conventional wisdom holds that ERISA's protections, and ERISA's daunting fiduciary and conflict of interest requirements, all cease to apply at the point at which the promised 'benefit' gets delivered.... [This case] adds support to the view that, so long as the benefit being promised clearly can consist of an account (rather than cash or its equivalent), delivery is complete when control over the account is delivered. That principle may well crop up in other contexts involving other types of ERISA plans, such as when employer stock (or perhaps an annuity contract) come to be distributed from a 401(k) plan or a similar savings plan." [Merrimon v. Unum Life Insurance Co. of America, No. 13-2128P-01A (1st Cir. July 2, 2014)] (BakerHostetler)  

The 'Wedding' Planner: Considerations When Selling Your TPA Firm (PDF)
"Once a TPA owner decides to sell the firm, significant planning must take place before any deal is closed. You want to make sure you find the right 'mate,' because 'business divorces' can be very painful. The more you know about your own firm, the easier it will be to determine whether or not a prospective buyer is appropriate for your firm. Owners should inform their attorney and accountant of any plans to sell in advance of entering discussions with buyers to be alerted to special circumstances that could impact the sale of the firm." (Simoneaux & Stroud Consulting Services, via Journal of Pension Benefits)  

How Will Audit Firms Implement Final PCAOB Rules on Executive Compensation Design?
"According to the [Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB)], the final rules 'do not require the auditor to make any determinations regarding the appropriateness or reasonableness of the company's compensation arrangements with its executive officers.' Notwithstanding this statement, questions remain as to how audit firms will implement this change and what procedures they will adopt for assessing whether pay programs give rise to a risk of material misstatement. [The authors] also have questions about what the next steps might be when an auditor makes such a determination." (Towers Watson)  

Press Releases

Seasoned Senior Account Executive Joins Burnham Benefit
Burnham Benefits Insurance Services Inc.

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