Field Service Rep - Retirement Plans
Nationwide Financial
in FL

Employee Benefits - Alternative Track Associate
Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP
in DC

Employee Benefits - Mid-level Associate
Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP
in DC, IL, NY, PA

ERISA Attorney
Nyhart
in IN

Actuarial Consultant
Verisight, Inc.
in IL

Conversion Specialist
Verisight, Inc.
in CA

ERISA Consultant/Attorney
Sentinel Benefits & Financial Group
in MA, NY

Defined Contribution Plan Administrator
Profit Planners, LLC
in IL

Part Time Retirement Services Processor
ATPA
in CA

Retirement Services Product Manager
Insperity
in ANY STATE

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The Two Main Components of a “Reasonable Arrangement” under 408(b)(2)
September 18, 2014 WEBCAST
(Pension Consultants, Inc.)

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[Guidance Overview]

CMS Webinar Slides: FF-SHOP Updates and Live Q&A, September 9, 2014 (PDF)
34 presentation slides. "FF-SHOP will launch SHOP Early Access in the following states prior to November 15 on HealthCare.gov: Delaware, Illinois, New Jersey, Missouri, Ohio; Early Access will make key portions of FF-SHOP functionality available in targeted markets prior to November 15; Accessible to small employers, agents, and brokers; Allows for incremental release of Marketplace functionality and consumer testing of the FF-SHOP online environment prior to go-live in all states; CMS will hold technical assistance and engagement events in each of the 5 SHOP Early Access states." (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services [CMS], U.S. Department of Health and Human Services [HHS])  

[Advert.]

NBCH 19th Annual Conference -- November 10-12, 2014 - Washington, DC

Employers, health plans, providers and other key stakeholders focus on improving health outcomes, lowering cost by benefit design, care management, payment reform, and reducing waste. Free admission for employers that are members of an NBCH coalition. Join us.

Text of District Court Opinion Awarding Moen Retirees Nearly $800,000 in Attorney's Fees in Successful Challenge to Termination of Health Benefits (PDF)
"In light of the clear contractual language and supportive extrinsic evidence, Moen's actions were culpable.... [T]here may be some deterrent effect to companies in Moen's position in the future. However, the relative size of the benefit obligations at stake and the attorney's fees may mitigate this effect to some degree.... Finally, the Court considers the relative merit of the parties' positions. As described above, Plaintiffs' position had clear merit, while Defendant Moen's position did not. Accordingly, this factor also counsels in favor of an award.... For the foregoing reasons, the Court grants Plaintiffs' motion for attorney's fees in the amount of $765,620 [.]" [Gallo et al. v. Moen, No. 1:13-cv-02440-JG (N.D. Ohio Sept. 11, 2014)] (U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio)  

Annual Notice Requirements for Employer Group Health Plans for 2015
"Women's Health and Cancer Rights Act (WHCRA) ... Medicare Part D Notice of Creditable or Non-Creditable Coverage ... HIPAA Notice of Privacy Practices ... Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act (CHIPRA) ... Summary of Benefits and Coverage ... Notice of Exchange Availability ... Notice Regarding Grandfathered Plan Status." (Miller Johnson)  

New California Law Provides Employees with Paid Sick Days Effective July 1, 2015
"The Paid Sick Leave law only exempts the following employees: Employees covered by a valid collective bargaining agreement if the agreement expressly provides paid sick days or paid leave for sick days, final and binding arbitration of disputes about paid sick days, premium wage rates for all overtime, and a regular hourly rate of pay of not less than 30 percent more than the state minimum wage rate; Employees in the construction industry covered by a valid collective bargaining agreement; Providers of in-home support services; and Employees of an air carrier flight deck or cabin crew members." (Liebert Cassidy Whitmore)  

Employer Rejects Employee's Fitness for Duty Certification, Faces FMLA Liability
"Because the hospital did not provide Vanessa and her doctor a job description or list of essential duties, guess who got to decide what her duties were? Yep -- Vanessa! So, when Vanessa's doctor asked her if she felt able to type, and she responded 'yes,' Vanessa's opinion carried the day.... But the employer had no say in the matter because its return to work certification process was not compliant.... When you don't provide the health care provider with essential job functions, you potentially create problems for yourself ... Update job descriptions/essential job duties before you provide them to the health care provider ... Don't insist that an employee return to work fully or 100% healed. And even more, don't put it in writing!" [Budhun v. Reading Hospital and Medical Center, No. 11-4625 (3rd Cir. Aug. 27, 2014)] (FMLA Insights)  

[Advert.]

Executive Forum on Creating a Culture of Health & Wellness

Wellness and HR executives with diverse viewpoints and experiences will come together to discuss, debate and exchange ideas on the impact of strong culture of health in the workplace on employee productivity and costs. $200 discount with code BLINK2.

Seventh Circuit Hears Oral Argument in Case That Struck Down Tax Code's Parsonage Allowance
"A three-judge panel of the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments [September 9] in an appeal of a ruling by a federal judge in Wisconsin that struck down the tax code's 60-year-old 'parsonage allowance'.... Clergy members say that [the District Court] ruling, which will not go into effect until the appeals process is finished, would have a significant financial impact on them.... Other pastors said that if the ruling stands, they may be forced back into the secular workforce." [The 2011 district court decision that found the provision to be unconstitutional is Freedom from Religion Foundation v. Geithner, No. 11-CV-626 (W.D. Wis. Sept. 13, 2011)] (CNS News)  

Auditor for State of Ohio Warns GASB Reporting Rule Could Hurt Local Government Budgets
"State law allows pension systems to offer medical insurance, but there is no legal obligation to employers beyond the employer pension contribution. [Ohio Auditor Dave] Yost noted in his written testimony that Ohio's pension systems choose to fund medical care through established contributions. Yost said the proposed rule requires employers to record a liability they have no control over and, in Ohio, a liability state retirement systems have no duty to ever provide." (Cleveland Plain Dealer)  

Understanding the Census Bureau's Upcoming Health Insurance Coverage Estimates
"While the CPS is the most widely used source of health coverage information, significant changes in its health coverage questions [which were] instituted for 2013 -- the result of a multi-year Census initiative to improve the reliability and accuracy of the survey's health coverage estimates -- mean that the 2013 results cannot be compared to those for prior years. Moreover, because the CPS estimates are for 2013, they will not show the effects of the [ACA's] major coverage expansions, implemented starting in January 2014." (Center on Budget and Policy Priorities)  

The Early Impact of the ACA: Individual Premiums Up Substantially
"[N]ational enrollment trends obscure significant variation across states, as a result of the types of people who opted in and how insurers set premiums. Across all states, from before the fourth quarter of 2013 to the first half of 2014, enrollment-weighted average per-person premiums in the individual health insurance market rose by 24.4% beyond what they would have had they simply followed state-level seasonally-adjusted trends. This large increase stands in contrast to the experience in Massachusetts, which saw premium decreases after its 2006 reform." (The Brookings Institution)  

Government Share of Health Care Spending at Record High
"Ten years ago, the government was paying for 39 percent of all health care spending, but that share has only risen. Obamacare is part of this increase: In 2014 alone, federal health care spending is projected to increase by 14.7 percent, rising faster than the growth of private health care spending for the next decade.... [CMS] projects Medicaid spending to rise by 18.4 percent in 2014." (National Center for Policy Analysis)  

[Opinion]

Limits of Risk Adjustment in Protecting Traditional Medicare under Premium Support
"Premium support proponents contend that this problem of adverse selection (the separation of healthier and less-healthy people into different insurance arrangements) can be addressed through a risk adjustment system, which would raise or lower payments to private plans and traditional Medicare based on their enrollees' health status. But risk adjustment is imperfect and captures only part, rather than all, of the cost variation resulting from differences in beneficiaries' health." (Center on Budget and Policy Priorities)  

District Court Deems Claim for Equitable Relief Appropriate Under Amara and Varity
"The Court noted that the key to the Varity analysis was whether both theories of recovery were based upon the same alleged conduct; if so, the claim for equitable relief under ERISA Section 502(a)(3) was not appropriate. But here ... the alleged wrongful conduct was not [the insurer's] benefit determination, but rather the employer's failure to provide the conversion application in a timely manner. In fact, as a direct result of the employer's alleged breach, plaintiffs had no a claim for benefits pursuant to ERISA Section 502(a)(1)(B) under the policy terms; they had a claim under ERISA Section 502(a)(3) or nothing." [Biller v. Prudential Ins. Co. and Six Continents Hotels, Inc., No. 1:13-CV-03495-RWS. (N.D. Ga. Aug. 26, 2014)] (Womble Carlyle)  

Health Converges with Wealth Across the Generations
"Health care costs can be hard to estimate over the long-term and are dependent on many personal characteristics, but for most [people], the costs are likely to be significant.... Participants at all life stages will need to create a strategy for funding their retirement that includes the cost of health care. These costs are likely to increase over time, even while they are living out their retirement years.... While monthly financial needs are relatively predictable, future retirees will need help planning for the unpredictable, potentially significant expenses that are likely to come in retirement. Their retirement savings will need to last longer, and grow more, than any previous generations." (Manning & Napier)  

TIAA-CREF Launches PlanFocus Website for Plan Sponsors
TIAA-CREF

Grooms Benefit Solutions Launches New Service Model to Help Transform Employee Benefits Into A Strategic Business Investment
Grooms Benefit Solutions

Survey Predicts Health Benefit Cost Increases Will Edge up in 2015, Spurring Employers to Take Action
Mercer

Patrick Laratta Joins Fiduciary Partners as Senior Vice President
Fiduciary Partners Retirement Group

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