Retirement Plan Administrator
Actuarial Consultants, Inc.
in CA

Client Service Manager, Defined Benefit
The Newport Group
in WI

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Washington and DOMA Update
RECORDED
(ASPPA [American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries])

Extra! Extra! Hear the Latest Retirement News and Hot Topics - Recorded
RECORDED
(IRS [Internal Revenue Service])

Choosing the Right Retirement Plan - Recorded
RECORDED
(IRS [Internal Revenue Service])

Public Pensions in Flux? A Review of State Retirement Systems and Alternatives to Traditional Defined Benefit Plans
RECORDED
(ASPPA [American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries])

Governmental Pension Reporting — The New Standards
November 25, 2014 WEBCAST
(Accounting Continuing Professional Education Network [ACPEN])

View All Webcasts and Conferences

[Official Guidance]

Text of CMS Quick Reference Guide to Obtaining a Controlling Health Plan HPID: Easy Access Version (Updated October 2014) (PDF)
"High Level Steps: 1.Register in the CMS Enterprise Portal; [2] Register for a [Health Insurance Oversight System (HIOS)] Account and gain access to HIOS; [3] Register the Organization in HIOS; [4] HIOS User Role Management; [5] [Health Plan and Other Entity System (HPOES)] -- Submitter completes the CHP HPID Application; [6] HPID Number is Assigned." A graphic guide is online. [BenefitsLink editor's note: approval of the HPID application by an authorizing official is no longer required. (Hat tip to Chip Kerby of Liberté Group LLC)] (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services [CMS], U.S. Department of Health and Human Services [HHS])  

[Advert.]

Intuitive, web-based Welfare Plan Document Solutions

Simplify the time-consuming tasks involved in plan document administration with ftwilliam.com. Provide quick and accurate service for your clients whether you're preparing Cafeteria, HRA, POP, Wrap or Section 132 plan documents.

[Guidance Overview]

DOL Guidelines Address ACA Cost-sharing Limits
"[T]he Departments' new FAQ explains that, pending issuance of future guidance, they will generally apply a facts and circumstances test in evaluating whether a plan's reference-based pricing design provides adequate access to providers at the reference price. The FAQ applies to plans that: [1] Treat providers who accept the reference-based price as the only in-network providers. [2] Exclude or limit cost-sharing for services performed by other providers. [3] Are not grandfathered under the ACA. Additional requirements apply for non-grandfathered plans in the individual and small group markets that must cover EHBs." (Practical Law Company)  

2014 Year-End Action Items for Health & Welfare Plans
"As 2014 comes to an end, health plan sponsors most certainly are taking actions to ensure compliance with the [ACA] employer shared responsibility requirements, which become effective January 1, 2015. However, plan sponsors should not lose sight of other upcoming compliance deadlines for their health and welfare plans." (Sidley Austin LLP)  

2015 Group Health Plan Checklist
"With 2015 just around the corner, certain mandates under the [ACA] are about to become effective. Health plans also have several existing enrollment and annual notice requirements. [This article] is a checklist of upcoming ACA mandates that employers must implement in preparation for or in 2015 and a summary of existing enrollment and annual notice requirements." (Benefits Bryan Cave)  

Half of Employers Expect to Trigger Cadillac Tax on Healthcare Benefits in 2018
"73 percent of companies are very or somewhat concerned that they will trigger the tax, and 62 percent say it will have a moderate or greater impact on their health care strategy in 2015 and 2016.... The excise tax is based on both employer and employee premium contributions, not just what the employer pays for coverage. The definition of what is included for calculating the tax extends to tax-advantaged health care accounts such as health flexible spending accounts, health reimbursement accounts and pretax contributions to a health savings account." (Wolters Kluwer Law & Business)  

2014 Guardian Workplace Benefits Study (PDF)
"This year's study examines five key issues from both the employer and employee perspectives: [1] The early impact of the ACA on the employee benefits model; [2] An increased receptivity to outsourcing administration and enrollment functions; [3] The surprising benefits of a healthier workforce; [4] The importance of workplace benefits to the middle class; [5] How Do-It-Yourselfers, many of whom are Millennials, engage with their benefits." (Guardian)  

Federal District Court Deems Claim for Equitable Relief Appropriate
"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 502(a)(3) was not appropriate. But here, Judge Story found, the alleged wrongful conduct was not Prudential'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 502(a)(1)(B) under the policy terms; they had a claim under ERISA 502(a)(3) or nothing." [Biller v. Prudential Ins. Co. of America and Six Continents Hotels, Inc., No. 1:13-CV-03495 (N.D. Ga. Aug. 26, 2014)] (Womble Carlyle)  

Companies Are Cautious on Private Health Exchanges
"While a number of companies signed up for private exchanges last fall, [one] survey of 136 large U.S. employers showed just 3% plan to use private exchanges for active employees next year, although 35% said they were considering doing so in 2016 or later.... Another survey of both large and midsize companies ... found that 4% of the large employers and 6% of midsize companies plan to move to private exchanges in 2015." (CFO)  

Supreme Court Declines to Hear Same-Sex Marriage Cases: How Does This Affect Employee Benefit Plan Administration?
"What should employers do now? [1] Account for those same-sex couples who may have been married in a state that permitted same-sex marriage ... [2] Determine if modification of benefit plan materials may be necessary; [3] Determine the appropriateness of a special enrollment opportunity to couples married in other jurisdictions prior to the Supreme Court's ruling who would not otherwise be eligible for a HIPAA special enrollment opportunity based upon the date of the wedding; and [4] Determine if modification of FMLA policy/forms is warranted based upon the changes." (Michael Best & Friedrich LLP)  

Privately Insured in America: Opinions on Health Care Costs and Coverage (PDF)
"[A]bout 1 in 8 privately insured Americans -- or more than 16 million people -- face major financial hardships like going without food or using up all of their savings as a result of medical bills.... [In] 2007, 17 percent of the privately insured under age 65 were enrolled in a HDHP, and that proportion more than doubled by 2014. This new survey finds that the growing population covered by HDHPs is less likely than other privately insured adults to go to the doctor when sick or get recommended medical treatment, and is more likely to need to use their savings for medical care." (The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs)  

Colorado Health Exchange Eyes Improvements for Small-Group Program
"The health exchange's [SHOP] offered up to a 50 percent tax credit for businesses with fewer than 25 employees who have average annual income of less than $50,000. But it fell far short of the exchange's first-year target market of 1,000 employers and 8,000 covered employees. Only 304 employers and 2,519 employees bought coverage on what exchange staff described as a hard-to-navigate site.... The total small-employer market encompasses more than 245,000 Coloradans, who account for more than $1 billion in premiums." (The Denver Post)  

From Competitors to Co-Adventurers, Seven Hospital Systems Join with Anthem Blue Cross to Shake Things Up in Southern California
"Anthem Blue Cross and seven competing hospital systems in Southern California are joining forces to establish a new health plan offering, Vivity. Operating with a combined 14 hospitals and approximately 6,000 physicians, the venture has already announced its first major customer: the State of California's pension fund manager, [CalPERS]. One of the more interesting features of the integrated delivery network is that it consists of seven separate health systems, each with its own physician strategies in place." (Sheppard Mullin)  

Some Louisiana Insurers Moving Ahead with Higher Premiums Under ACA
"Blue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana, the state's largest provider ... is moving forward with its original plan to increase rates between 18.3 percent and 19.7 percent ... Humana Health Benefits Plan rates under the [ACA] will increase by 9.9 percent, less than the company's original projected increase of 15.5 percent. Vantage Health Plan Inc. said it was moving forward with its plan for a 15.89 percent increase." (The Times-Picayune)  

The Benefits of Health Advocacy in Private Exchanges
"In order to ensure private exchanges are successful, it's critical that participating employees understand this new system and have access to resources to help them navigate the exchanges as well as their new coverage.... Without access to resources to help them fully understand their health care coverage, employees may not effectively utilize the benefits available to them, which can result in poor outcomes and later, higher healthcare costs for both employees and employers.... Health advocacy can serve as a safety net for employees, offering them somewhere to turn to make the private exchange experience easier and ensure the goals of the new program are met." (The Private Exchange Blog)  

A 10-Year Projection of the Prescription Drug Share of National Health Expenditures, Including Non-Retail (PDF)
"Because the growth in spending on traditional drugs has been slow and the non-retail share has been quite steady, it is useful to focus attention initially on specialty drugs. The most important question is whether the recent historical decline in the non-retail share of spending on specialty drugs is likely to continue." (Altarum Institute)  

The ACA and the New Economics of Part-Time Work
"The ACA's employment taxes create strong incentives to work less. The health subsidies' structure will put millions in a position in which working part time (29 hours or fewer, as defined by the ACA) will yield more disposable income than working their normal full-time schedule. The reduction in weekly employment due to these ACA disincentives is estimated to be about 3 percent, or about 4 million fewer full-time-equivalent workers. This is the aggregate result of the law's employment disincentives, and is nearly double the impact most recently estimated by the [CBO]." (Mercatus Center, George Mason University)  

Pentegra Retirement Services Launches New Website
Pentegra Retirement Services

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