Account Manager Senior - Requisition #10704
Gallagher Benefit Services, Inc.
in FL

Retirement Plan Analyst
Retirement Plan Solutions, Inc.
in ANY STATE

Human Resources Specialist-Benefits
Saint Mary's College of California
in CA

Account Manager 401(k) Employee Benefits
Plexus Financial Services
in IL

Retirement Plan Administrator/Plan Document Specialist
The Weiss Group, Inc.
in FL, IL, OH

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Health Reform Roundtable
September 4, 2014 in MD
(Worldwide Employee Benefits Network [WEB] - Baltimore Chapter)

ERISA @ 40
September 9, 2014 in VA
(Bloomberg BNA)

2014 Product Tax Seminar and Boot Camp
September 10, 2014 in DC
(Society of Actuaries)

2014 Webinar: 72(t) Payments
September 16, 2014 WEBCAST
(Ascensus)

2014 Webinar: SIMPLE Plans
September 18, 2014 WEBCAST
(Ascensus)

24th Annual National Health Benefits Conference & Expo
January 25, 2015 in FL
(Health Benefits Conference & Expo)

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International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans [IFEBP]

Text of District Court Opinion Exempting Diocese and Affiliated Non-Profit Employers from Contraceptive Mandate and its 'Accommodation' (PDF)
53 pages. "[If] there is no compelling governmental interest to apply the contraceptive mandate to the religious employers who operate the 'houses of worship,' then there cannot be any compelling governmental interest to apply (even in an indirect fashion) the contraceptive mandate to the religious employers of the nonprofit, religious affiliated/related entities, like Plaintiffs in this case [including Catholic Charities and St. John's School]." [Brandt, Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Greensburg et al v. Burwell, No. 14cv0681 (M.D. Penn. Aug. 20, 2014)] (U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania)  

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Don't Get Nickel and Dimed by Your Health Savings Account
"Although the savings account option in an HSA may carry a competitive yield relative to other types of cash accounts, that yield advantage can be quickly eroded with various types of account and transaction fees. And HSA participants who aim to earn a higher return on their money by investing in long-term securities like mutual funds and ETFs are also likely to run the gamut of charges, from ongoing maintenance charges to charges per transaction, all of which come on top of the mutual funds" expense ratios." (Morningstar)  

Resistance Was Futile: California Conforms to ACA Waiting Period Requirement
"Although California employers have mostly adapted to the original 60-day limitation ... the adoption of SB 1034 is welcome news and will allow employers with operations in both California and other states to impose uniform eligibility rules for their health plans if they so choose." (Ogletree Deakins)  

Wellness Plan Compliance: Test Your Knowledge
"[I]ncentive and penalty-focused health plans carry with them a host of federal and state laws that regulate the extent to which employers can impose wellness programs on employees.... Take the quiz [in this article] to test your knowledge about several other workplace wellness regulations, and whether your organization is in compliance." (William Gallagher Associates)  

Bocce, Baseball, Bowling: A Wellness Program That Covers All the Bases
"Our wellness initiatives were intentional and strategic. Leadership made a healthy workplace culture a priority. The small but dedicated Work 'n' Well Committee was expanded and rebranded the Healthy Workplace Council with a beefed-up budget.... [T]he council focuses on all five aspects of well-being that are measured by the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index -- physical, social, community, financial and purpose." (International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans [IFEBP])  

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Explore the advantages of a Self-Funded Health Plan! By bringing together cutting edge cost containment strategies, excellent service and outstanding resources, IPMG's EBS division can help you make a difference for your plan.

ACA Resources for Frequently Asked Questions, Updated August 15, 2014 (PDF)
19 pages. "The report provides basic consumer sources, including broad overviews of the ACA law. The next sections focus on health coverage: the individual mandate, private health insurance, and exchanges, as well as public health care programs ... The report then lists sources on employer-sponsored coverage, including sources on employer penalties, small businesses, federal workers' health plans, and union health plans. The report also provides sources on ACA's provisions on mental health, public health, workforce, quality, and taxes. Finally, the report lists sources on ACA costs and appropriations, legal issues, the treatment of noncitizens under ACA, and sources for obtaining the law's full-text." (Congressional Research Service [CRS])  

Cuts in Healthcare Benefits Driving Delayed Retirement by Public Employees
"Just 18 percent of full-time public workers are 'very confident' about their retirement income prospects -- down from 21 percent in 2012 ... Much of the fear has come from changes to retiree health care, which is generally less protected than pensions ... With Americans living longer and health-care costs rising, many state and local governments have shifted part of that bill to retirees or, in some instances, cut retiree coverage altogether." (Governing)  

The Secret Committee Behind Our Soaring Health Care Costs
"In 2012, national health care spending in the United States reached $2.8 trillion, or more than 17 percent of the country's gross domestic product -- more than any other industrialized country.... [One] explanation ... lies with a secretive committee run by the American Medical Association (AMA) which, with the assent of the government, has enormous power to determine Medicare prices by assessing the relative value of the services that physicians perform. For decades the committee has done so in a way that has skewed Medicare fees in favor of expensive specialists over ordinary general practitioners ... who are the nation's first line of defense against serious illness. Because Medicare fees are the baseline for the rest of the pricing in the health care system, this has had a broad effect[.]" (Politico)  

The Next Frontier: Insurance Marketplaces That Promote Quality Improvement
"Consumers need more support to make quality-driven plan choices ... Greater standardization across the marketplaces and other purchasers can improve efficiency and drive greater adoption ... We're a long way from plan competition based on quality performance[.]" (The Commonwealth Fund)  

Californians Favor Tougher Rules on Health Insurance Premium Hikes
"Proposition 45 would give California's insurance commissioner the power to veto health insurance rate increases. Health insurance rates in the state are currently overseen by the Department of Managed Health Care and the California Department of Insurance. Insurance companies are required to submit proposed rate increases for review each year by state regulators, who may declare rates unreasonable but cannot block them from going into effect." (Kaiser Health News)  

Anthem Blue Cross Sued Again Over Narrow-Network Health Plans
"In the latest suit, Anthem members accuse the company of misrepresenting the size of its physician networks and the insurance benefits provided in new plans offered under the [ACA]. In many cases, consumers say, Anthem canceled their more generous PPO, or preferred-provider organization, plan and moved them to a more limited EPO, or exclusive-provider-organization, policy." (Los Angeles Times)  

Medical Tourism Gets a Facelift -- and Perhaps a Pacemaker
"[W]ith the globalization of information and the empowerment of the consumer, medical tourism involves individuals acting as a consumer, making their own decisions regarding their health needs, deciphering how they can best be treated, and then finding the most appropriate provider.... [M]any countries across the world are getting more competitive and developing their own health tourism strategy -- competing on quality and price.... Although the exact market size of the medical tourism market is difficult to predict, recent ... research predicts the market at around $50 billion to $65 billion dollars in 2014, growing at approximately 20 percent." (Forbes)  

States Opt Out of SHOP Employee Choice in Droves
"Concern is mounting among the 32 states under the FFM umbrella about implementation of employee-choice functionality in the SHOP exchange ... The [National Association of Insurance Commissioners] notes that the employee-choice provision raises considerable challenges for the exchange and carriers, as well as employers and employees." (Employee Benefit Adviser)  

Estimated Cost Impact of Creating a New Health Plan Tier ('Copper Plan') with an Actuarial Value Level of 50 Percent (PDF)
6 pages. "[C]reating a new tier with an AV of 50 percent would reduce the federal deficit by $0.3 billion between FY 2015 and FY 2024.... The reduction is due to a net $5.8 billion decrease in subsidies paid by the federal government for individuals in the new health insurance marketplace, primarily due to an increase in the estimated number of employers who will offer affordable coverage to employees.... We also estimate that the premium for the new plan with a 50 percent AV would be nearly 18 percent lower than the premium for an average bronze tier plan in 2016. The lower premium would result in a slight increase in estimated enrollment in the new marketplace." (Avalere Health, for Council for Affordable Health Coverage [CAHC])  

Is a Court Remand to Claims Administrator 'Because the Record Is Insufficient for De Novo Review' Sufficient Success to Award Attorney Fees?
"Is a court's remand for further review of an ERISA-governed claim by the claims administrator a sufficient 'degree of success on the merits' to qualify for an award of attorney fees and costs? Is merely 'surviving to fight another day' the same as winning the war or winning a significant battle? Maybe so.... [T]his opinion, and the dissenting opinion, ... outlines arguments (and cites the cases nationally) on both sides of the issue[.]" [Gross v. Sun Life Assurance Co. of Canada, No. 12-1175 (1st Cir. Aug. 14, 2014)] (Lane Powell PC)  

ISS Invites U.S. Companies to Verify Equity Plan Data
"The data verification program is optional. It is open to U.S. companies who have filed definitive proxy materials after September 8th, 2014 with an equity plan proposal (new or amendment) on the ballot. The data verification program does not apply to other compensation plan proposals such as cash and bonus plan proposals. To participate in the program, the company's proxy materials must be filed at least 30 days in advance of the meeting date. Data verification is only available to company contacts who register in advance to participate in the data verification program with ISS." (Benefits Bryan Cave)  

Favorable Guidance on Application of Code Section 457A to Stock Options and SARs
"Since Section 457A became effective in 2009, some compensation professionals have been concerned that Section 457A and its potential 20% penalty tax would apply to any stock option or SAR granted to a service provider of a nonqualified entity.... The IRS previously tried to ally this concern in IRS Notice 2009-8, but now has used a more formal interpretation in Revenue Ruling 2014-18 to confirm that Section 457A does not apply to stock options and SARs that are stock-settled so long as they met the stock right exemption in Code Section 409A." (Winston & Strawn LLP)  

Lincoln Financial Group Retirement Plan Services Announces Enhancements to Its Lincoln Director Program
Lincoln Financial Group

More than $59,300 to be restored to Nickson’s Machine Shop 401(k) Savings Plan in Santa Maria, Calif. under consent judgment obtained by U.S. DOL
Employee Benefits Security Administration [EBSA], U.S. Department of Labor

Judgment orders fiduciaries to restore more than $59,000 to Connor Companies Health and Welfare Plan in Laona, Wisconsin
Employee Benefits Security Administration [EBSA], U.S. Department of Labor

NCPA Urges More Transparency from Pharmacy Benefit Managers
National Community Pharmacists Association [NCPA]

OneAmerica® Appoints Pete J. Schroedle as Retirement Sales VP
OneAmerica Financial Partners

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