401(k) Administrator
Pollard & Associates, Inc.
in MD

Entry to Mid-Level, Retirement Plan Administration & Consulting
Pension and Retirement Plan Company
in CT, NJ, NY

Account Manager
National Retirement Services, Inc.
in NC

Compliance Analyst
National Retirement Services, Inc.
in NC

Enrolled Actuary
ERP Actuaries & Consultants
in NY

Pension Administrator
Plan Administration
in TX

Plan Administrator
Verisight
in IL

Conversion Manager
Verisight
in CA

Post Your Job

View All Jobs

RSS Feed: All Jobs

Controlled Groups - Understanding the Challenges
January 8, 2015 WEBCAST
(ASC Institute)

401(k) Plans: Beyond the Basics - Minneapolis
February 10, 2015 in MN
(SunGard Relius)

View All Webcasts and Conferences

[Official Guidance]

CMS 2015 Policy for Partial Months of Coverage (PDF)
"For partial months of coverage resulting from a mid-month termination (ex: death) or a mid-month add (ex: birth), CMS will pay partial month [advance premium tax credit (APTC)] and advance [cost sharing reductions (CSR)] to FFM issuers for the partial months of coverage in plan year 2015. FFM issuers must also apply a standard proration methodology to calculate premium, APTC, advance CSR, and user fee for partial months of coverage." (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services [CMS], U.S. Department of Health and Human Services [HHS])  

[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!

[Official Guidance]

CMS Procedures for Incorrectly Applied Tobacco Ratings (PDF)
"During passive enrollment, the system will retain the original tobacco usage based on the consumer's tobacco status in 2014. Consumers may Report a Life Change through the Marketplace for their 2015 coverage in order to update their tobacco usage, which may result in a valid premium change based on a new tobacco status. However, Issuers that receive [non-special enrollment period change in circumstance (non-SEP CiC)] changes or expired data matching issues that revert subscribers to non-tobacco rates should restore the tobacco rate. Issuers should report the change during the next data reconciliation." (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services [CMS], U.S. Department of Health and Human Services [HHS])  

Health FSAs, HRAs and HSAs: Similarities and Differences (PDF)
"[This] chart provides a general overview of the structure and operation of health flexible spending arrangements, health reimbursement arrangements, and health savings accounts, respectively. The chart highlights both the similarities as well as the key differences among these arrangements." (Buck Consultants at Xerox)  

Evaluating Worksite Wellness: Practical Applications for Employers (PDF)
65 pages. "This report provides techniques, tools and strategies for evaluating a wellness program effectively. This report covers the issues essential to any evaluation, including: [1] How to identify the right tools and techniques in various situations. [2] How to request appropriate data for conducting a medical claims data analysis. [3] How to assess which risk factors should be monitored regularly. [4] How to identify and compare program costs against program benefits. [5] How to determine whether an intervention is likely to pay for itself. [6] How to compare two or more interventions for cost-effectiveness. [7] How to prepare a forecast of projected benefits and costs associated with an intervention." (Society for Human Resource Management [SHRM])  

Implementing the ACA: State Approaches to Premium Rate Reforms in the Individual Health Insurance Market
"The [ACA] protects people from being charged more for insurance based on factors like medical history or gender and establishes new limits on how insurers can adjust premiums for age, tobacco use, and geography. This brief examines how states have implemented these federal reforms in their individual health insurance markets.... Interviews with state regulators reveal that many states pursued implementation strategies intended primarily to minimize market disruption and premium shock and therefore established standards as consistent as possible with existing rules or market practice. Meanwhile, some states used the transition period to strengthen consumer protections, particularly with respect to tobacco rating." (The Commonwealth Fund)  

Can Health Insurance Competition Work? Evidence from Medicare Advantage
"[The authors] estimate the economic surplus created by Medicare Advantage under its reformed competitive bidding rules.... [They] find that private plans have costs around 12% below fee-for-service costs, and generate around $50 dollars in surplus on average per enrollee-month, after accounting for the disutility due to enrollees having more limited choice of providers. Taxpayers provide a large additional subsidy, and insurers capture most of the private gains." (National Bureau of Economic Research [NBER])  

Consumers Have Less Choice in ACA Exchanges in 2015
"There are 3,134 counties in the United States.... Consumers in one-third of those counties have just one or two insurers to choose from in 2015. In 2015, 89 percent of American counties will have five or fewer companies selling insurance policies. Fifty-seven percent of American counties in 2015 will have just three or fewer insurers (a decrease from 2014, when 78 percent of counties had three or fewer insurers). Sixty-two percent of Texas counties have only one or two insurers offering coverage in 2015 on the exchange. There is only one insurer offering health care coverage on West Virginia's exchange." (National Center for Policy Analysis)  

What the ACA Means for Insurance Brokers
"[T]he biggest challenge for the exchange operators is to convince private-sector employers of the long-term benefits and cost savings of delivering health-care benefits through the exchanges and help them overcome concerns about the potential loss in employee productivity and morale as well as the stringent reporting requirements.... [P]rivate exchanges aim at serving an estimated 140 million participants (15 million retirees and 125 million active employees) who are currently covered by employer-sponsored plans.... Future opportunities for the insurance brokers and exchange operators are the estimated 30 million retirees who are not in employer-sponsored plans and are ineligible for Medicaid as well." (Morningstar)  

Benefits Brokers Can Make a Difference with HR and Benefits Technology in 2015
"The internet and use of mobile devices creates an opportunity for third-parties like insurance companies or benefits brokers to reach a large group of people in an easier way. The internet can effectively be used to educate people and provide information on demand. Yet, for the most part, this does not happen in the benefits industry because few carriers or brokers have recognized that this is their job and therefore have not developed the capability to engage the employee in an effective way via the web and mobile." (Joe Markland)  

Half of Obamacare Subsidy Recipients May Owe Refunds to the IRS
"[As] many as half of the 6.8 million people who received insurance premium subsidies under the [ACA] benefited from subsidies that were too large ... [T]he subsidies are based on past tax returns, so many people may be receiving too much, according to Vanderbilt University assistant professor John Graves, who projects the average subsidy is $208 too high[.]" (Washington Examiner)  

Ninth Circuit Reverses Ruling on Participant's Claim for Surcharge
"Plan participants can recover personal, rather than plan, losses under arguments of 'surcharge,' the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals recently ruled, reversing an earlier opinion, which had been at odds with other federal circuits.... The U.S. Supreme Court's 2011 ruling on equitable remedies in Cigna Corp. v. Amara was not enough to tip the balance in the retiree's favor. In that decision, the justices ruled that equitable surcharge could be an appropriate remedy in some situations." [Gabriel v. Alaska Electrical Pension Fund, No. 12-35458 (9th Cir. Dec. 16, 2014)] (Thompson SmartHR Manager)  

New Insurance Coverage Extends Protections to Investigations by DOL, Other Regulators
"Traditionally, fiduciary insurers have recognized a DOL investigation as a covered claim only after the DOL has sent a letter identifying alleged breaches of fiduciary duty at the end of its investigation. Under this structure, there is no coverage for defense costs during the investigation period. Pre-claim investigation coverage changes that. As soon as the first notice of an investigation is received from the DOL, filed with the insurer and accepted as a claim, the insurer is obligated to start paying defense costs." (Segal Consulting)  

TIAA-CREF Announces C. Eugene Steuerle as Samuelson Award Winner
TIAA-CREF

McGraw Wentworth and Cambridge Property & Casualty Combine Under One Brand, Forming Marsh & McLennan Agency Michigan
McGraw Wentworth

HealthPass New York To Offer CareConnect Health Insurance Plans to Small Businesses
HealthPass New York

View All Press Releases