Benefits Attorney
Law Firm
in NY

Quality Consultant – Client Integration
Transamerica
in NY

Plan Specialist
Transamerica
in NY

Benefits Specialist
Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains
in CO

Reconciliation Manager - Trust Department
New York Life Retirement Plan Services
in MA

Regional Vice President, Sales
Transamerica Retirement Solutions
in NJ, NY

Post Your Job

View All Jobs

RSS Feed: All Jobs

Withdrawal Liability Claims: What Employers Should Do to Protect Their Interests
RECORDED
(Practical Law Company)

2014 Webinar: IRA Reporting
December 18, 2014 WEBCAST
(Ascensus)

34th ECFC Annual Conference
March 4, 2015 in DC
(ECFC [Employers Council on Flexible Compensation])

View All Webcasts and Conferences

[Guidance Overview]

CMS Provides Instructions for Correction or Supplemental Filing for Transitional Reinsurance Report and Payment
"Attention ACA Transitional Reinsurance Reporting Entities: If you need to submit a second contribution, log into Pay.gov, go to 'View My Forms,' duplicate your previous submission. Make sure '2nd Contribution' is selected on page [2] If you need to correct your csv attachment, please click more information at the bottom of this alert. Under the Resources Box, click the 'Job Aid Manual' and 'Job Aid' links. These will help you create the attachment. If you need to cancel a payment, log in to Pay.gov and go to Payment Activity. Your transaction should show up under Pending Payments. If you see a Cancel button, you can cancel the payment. If no Cancel button is available, you will need to contact CMS. If you need to contact CMS you may reach them at 1-855-CMS-1515 option 3, then choose option [4] Or e-mail them at reinsurancecontributions@cms.hhs.gov." (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services [CMS], U.S. Department of Health and Human Services)  

[Advert.]

24th Annual National Health Benefits Conference & Expo (HBCE)

Plan now to attend the National Health Benefits Conference & Expo, January 27-28 in Clearwater Beach, Florida. The conference provides cutting-edge case studies and advanced cost control strategies presented by national thought leaders. Register Now!

[Guidance Overview]

FAQ Offers Additional Guidance on Reference-Based Pricing and Out-of-Pocket Maximums (PDF)
"Although the guidance does not limit the use of referenced-based pricing, the fairly prescriptive standards will likely require many plans that use reference-based pricing to credit any employee cost-sharing for non-accepting providers to the in-network [out-of-pocket] maximum. This could limit the effectiveness of these programs in controlling benefit costs." (Buck Consultants at Xerox)  

[Guidance Overview]

Agencies Take the Wind Out of the Sails of Minimum Value Plans
"Employers considering the offer of a non-hospital/non-physician services plan that have not already entered into a binding, written commitment regarding the plan, or who have not already started enrolling employees in such a plan, should NOT offer such a plan in for 2015 for the purpose of satisfying the minimum value requirement under Code 4980H(b). If such a plan is offered, it will leave the employer exposed to penalties." (Hill, Chesson & Woody)  

Preparing for a Health and Welfare Plan DOL Audit (PDF)
"What Should You Do First? Ask for More Time ... Identify Key Players ... Review the Data Request and Identify Sources of Information ... Gather all plan-related documents including policies, certificates, TPA contracts for administrative services such as claims processing, ERISA plan documents, amendments, summary of material modifications and summary plan descriptions. You may already have these documents in one file if you have a wrap plan ... Don't be afraid to say 'not applicable' but be prepared to explain the reason." (Mary B. Anderson, in benefits magazine, published by the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans [IFEBP])  

On-Premises Fringe Benefits, Part I: Is There Such a Thing as a Free Lunch?
"Depending on the value of the meals, the number provided per day, and the number of employees receiving the benefit, this could be a fairly big-ticket item in an employer's tax audit if the IRS determines [1] that the value of the benefit should have been included in employee income, resulting in employer liability for the income and employment taxes, interest, and penalties and [2] that the value of the meals was not fully deductible." (Ogletree Deakins)  

Voters Approve Paid Sick Leave Initiatives by Healthy Margins (PDF)
"Unlike the Connecticut law, the Massachusetts mandate is not restricted by the employer's size or industry, and also provides a more generous employee benefit than the new California law (40 versus 24 hours of paid leave per year).... Employers that already have a PTO policy will not have to provide additional paid sick time if the policy allows an amount of time that may be used for the same purposes and is sufficient to satisfy the requirements for accrued paid sick leave under these new laws." (Buck Consultants at Xerox)  

Retiree Health Benefit Dispute Draws Multiple Briefs, Including 'True' Amicus Brief
"The Goldstein brief described itself as 'the rare true "amicus" brief,' because its only purpose was 'to provide the Court with factual information that may be useful in guiding its decision.' According to the brief, it's very rare for CBAs to include clear, express language on the issue of vested retiree health benefits. However, the brief said that 6 percent of CBAs provide that retirees will receive health benefits 'for life,' while 22 percent link retirees' eligibility for health benefits to their pension status." [M&G Polymers USA, LLC v. Tackett, No. 13-1010 (on appeal from 6th Cir., cert. granted May 5, 2014)] (Bloomberg BNA)  

Employers Scaling Back Health Coverage for Spouses and Dependents
"[By] 2017, 63% of employers will add surcharges or exclude spouses from coverage when employer-sponsored health coverage is available elsewhere.... in 2014: 49% of employers increased employee contributions for spouse and dependent coverage at a faster rate than for individual employee coverage. 24% implemented spouse coverage surcharges in 2014 of about $100 per month or more when other coverage was available to the spouse.... 2% offered no subsidy at all for spouse coverage." (Towers Watson)  

Small Business Health Insurance Exchanges: Low Initial Enrollment Likely Due to Multiple, Evolving Factors
"In this report GAO describes [1] SHOP functionality, enrollment, plan availability, and premiums and [2] stakeholders' views on key factors that have affected current SHOP enrollment or may affect future enrollment growth. GAO reviewed relevant information from CMS and states, including data on employer and employee enrollment, plan availability, and premiums generally through June 1, 2014. GAO also interviewed representatives of key stakeholders that operate SHOPs (CMS and states), offer coverage in SHOPs (health insurance issuers), obtain coverage through SHOPs (small employers), or assist in obtaining coverage through SHOPs (agents and brokers) on a national basis and, for certain stakeholders, in five states -- California, Illinois, Kentucky, Rhode Island, and Texas.... The experiences of these stakeholders cannot be generalized to other states or stakeholders." (U.S. Government Accountability Office [GAO])  

Upward Trend in U.S. Health Care Cost Increases
"[T]he average health care cost per employee in 2014 was $10,717, up from $10,266 in 2013. The portion of the total health care premium that employees were asked to contribute toward this premium cost was $2,487 in 2014, compared to $2,355 in 2013. Meanwhile, average employee out-of-pocket costs, such as copayments, coinsurance and deductibles, increased from $2,005 in 2013 to $2,295 in 2014. For 2015, average health care costs are projected to increase to $11,304 per employee." (Aon Hewitt)  

Too High a Price: Out-Of-Pocket Health Care Costs in the United States
"Americans are paying more out-of-pocket for health care now than they did in the past decade.... More than one of five 19-to-64-year-old adults who were insured all year spent 5 percent or more of their income on out-of-pocket costs, not including premiums, and 13 percent spent 10 percent or more." (The Commonwealth Fund)  

Surprises Lurk for People Re-Enrolling on HealthCare.gov
"A handful of insurers in 14 states are offering aggressively low premiums on the federal insurance enrollment site, which reopens Saturday, in a bid to undercut big rivals who snapped up customers last year. The move is pulling down the value of federal tax credits that consumers get to offset the cost of their coverage under the [ACA]. The credits are pegged to the price of the second-lowest-cost midrange plan in a given geographic area, as well as an enrollee's income." (The Wall Street Journal; subscription may be required)  

HSA-Eligible Plans Are Widely Available in Obamacare Exchanges
"To improve competition between HSA and non-HSA plans on the exchanges, [the authors] suggest a number of reforms for HSA-eligible plans, including: Improve transparency.... Standardize and simplify.... Improve affordability for low-income consumers." (National Center for Policy Analysis Health Policy Blog)  

[Opinion]

Hospital Consolidation Isn't the Key to Lowering Costs and Raising Quality
"[L]arger size is neither a necessary nor sufficient condition for hospital systems to trim waste and enhance quality. In fact, studies show that greater competition, not consolidation, is more likely to hold down costs and lead to better care.... Smaller institutions can implement inexpensive but highly effective quality improvements, such as surgical checklists, as well [as] if not better than larger organizations can." (Austin B. Frakt, in JAMA Forum)  

US Labor Department Signs Agreement With New Hampshire Department Of Labor to Reduce Misclassification of Employees
Employee Benefits Security Administration [EBSA], U.S. Department of Labor

View All Press Releases