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Employee Benefits Jobs
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Webcasts and Conferences
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[Guidance Overview]
IRS ACA Information Page: Types of Employer Shared Responsibility Payments and How They Are Calculated
Information page covering: [1] Employer Shared Responsibility Payment for Failure to Offer Minimum Essential Coverage; [2] Employer Shared Responsibility Payment for Failure to Offer Affordable Minimum Essential Coverage that Provides Minimum Value; [3] Meaning of Offer of Coverage; [4] Assessment and Collection of the Employer Shared Responsibility Payment; [5] Non-Deductibility of Employer Shared Responsibility Payment. Includes overview and examples.
(Internal Revenue Service [IRS])
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Text of Federal District Court Opinion: Limited Discovery Appropriate in ERISA Matter Evidencing Conflict of Interest and Procedural Irregularity (PDF)
"Hartford both administers and funds the plan. Under [Metropolitan Life Ins. Co. v. Glenn, 554 U.S. 105 (2008)], such dual obligations may create a structural conflict of interest. Furthermore, without a convincing explanation, the altered claim form suggests a procedural irregularity. Although plausible, Hartford's explanation regarding the alteration is speculative ... [T]he potential structural conflict of interest coupled with the procedural irregularity of the altered form warrant further discovery. However, even where discovery regarding an alleged conflict of interest is appropriate, courts generally place narrow restrictions on the scope of discovery permitted. Plaintiff's requests are expansive and must be narrowed to target
information actually relevant to the alleged conflicts." [Greene v. Hartford, No. 13-6033 (E.D. Penn. Feb. 6, 2015)]
(U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania)
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Supreme Court Eases the Way for Eliminating or Modifying Retiree Benefits
"Employers who have a desire (or perhaps a need) to cut benefit costs should feel somewhat more secure, and possibly inspired, to undertake a legal review of their retiree benefit programs and re-evaluate whether they can amend, modify or terminate those programs. In the more recent past, it has been a best practice for employers to reserve an express contract right to amend, modify or terminate retiree benefits at any time and for any reason. Employers that have done so should have a clear path when altering retiree benefits." [M&G Polymers USA, LLC v. Tackett, No. 13-1010 (U.S. Jan. 26, 2015)]
(Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC)
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Anthem's Data Breach: How Employers Should Respond
"According to reports from Anthem, the breach extends to certain information about employees and dependents covered by the following plans: [1] Anthem Blue Cross; [2] Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield; [3] Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Georgia; [4] Empire Blue Cross and Blue Shield; [5] Amerigroup; [6] CareMore; [7] Unicare; [8] HealthLink; and [9] DeCare Dental. Information about other employees and dependents may also be subject to the breach. In particular, individuals who used their Blue Cross/Blue Shield plan to cover medical care provided in states where Anthem processed the medical bills through the 'BlueCard' program may be affected."
(Ballard Spahr LLP)
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Dependent Care's Disappearing Act?
"With its recent tax-reform plan, the White House is seeking to eliminate flexible spending accounts related to caring for children and aging parents, while also trying to broaden current limitations.... From an employer standpoint, if these FSAs disappear, it would create an obvious downside for families who use the benefit -- especially since they may not qualify for tax credits until the president's tax reform plan goes into effect[.]"
(Human Resource Executive Online)
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Employee Participation in Wellness Programs and Flexible Work Arrangements is Increasing
"About three-quarters (76 percent) of organizations offered some type of wellness program to employees in 2014, an increase from 70 percent in 2012. Also in 2014, about one-half (52 percent) of organizations provided employees with the option to use flexible work arrangements, such as teleworking.... More than one-half (53 percent) of organizations indicated employee participation in wellness programs increased last year, whereas just under one-third (31 percent) reported increased employee participation in flexible work arrangements."
(Wolters Kluwer Law & Business)
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Account-Based Health Plan Adoption on the Rise
"In 2014, nearly three-quarters of employers offered their employees one or more account-based health plans (ABHPs). Another 9 percent expected to add an ABHP to their plan options for the plan year 2015. In addition, 16 percent of employers now offer ABHPs as the only plan option, more than double the rate in 2012. No other plan types saw such positive growth in 2014.... An ABHP is an employer-sponsored health plan that combines a high deductible with either a Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA) or Health Savings Account (HSA) -- tax-advantaged accounts that employees can use to pay eligible health care expenses."
(OneExchange from Towers Watson)
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IRS Releases Final Forms and Instructions for ACA Reporting (PDF)
"With some limited changes, the forms and instructions largely follow the drafts that the IRS previously released ... [T]hese final forms and instructions are for reporting 2014 coverage, which is voluntary for employers. Final forms and instructions for reporting 2015 coverage will be provided by the IRS later this year."
(Buck Consultants at Xerox)
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A Detailed Analysis of the GOP Alternative to Obamacare
"[K]ey provisions include: ... No Individual Mandate to Buy Health Insurance or an Employer Mandate to Offer Coverage ... Consumer Protections ... A Return to Pre-Existing Condition Limits ... Default Enrollments ... High Risk Pools for the Uninsured ... Affordable Insurance Policies ... Tax Credits to Buy Coverage ... No More Obamacare State and Federal Insurance Exchanges ... No Limits on the Kind of Insurance Policies That Could Be Offered ... Capping the Tax Exclusion on Employer-Provided Health Insurance ... Moving Toward Defined Contribution Health Insurance ... Medical Malpractice Reform ... Repealing the Medicaid Expansion ... Empower Poorer Consumers by Giving Them Mainstream Health Plans."
(Bob Laszewski's Health Care Policy and Marketplace Review)
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The ACA and Small Business: Economic Issues (PDF)
Dated January 15, 2015. "The provisions that most directly relate to small businesses are [1] an employer penalty for not providing health insurance, [2] a tax credit to increase the affordability of health care for the smallest firms, and [3] small business health insurance exchanges designed to increase plan options and lower plan costs.... [This report] summarizes [these] ACA provisions ... [and] analyzes these provisions for their potential effects on small businesses." [CRS Report R43181.]
(Congressional Research Service [CRS])
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Health Insurance Premium Changes in ACA Marketplaces, 2014-2015
"[This] infographic illustrates the change in monthly premiums by county, and select cities, from 2014 to 2015 for a 40-year-old person covered by the second-lowest-cost silver 'benchmark' plan in the Affordable Care Act's insurance marketplaces. Premium changes were greatest in Summit County, Colo. (45% decrease) and southeastern Alaska (34% increase), before tax credits."
(Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation)
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Health Care Providers May Continue to Charge State Fee Schedules for Third-Party Medical Record Requests
"Recent changes to HIPAA have led to confusion, with a significant number of attorneys claiming that they are entitled to a lower 'HIPAA rate' for copies of medical records. While the issue may seem arcane, this confusion is becoming the subject of litigation against covered entities and their release-of-information vendors.... When a covered entity receives a request from an attorney or other third party who is not the individual's personal representative under HIPAA, the covered entity should continue to require a HIPAA-compliant authorization (or otherwise meet the requirements for a disclosure, such as going through the subpoena or court order process) and the covered entity or its release-of-information company may continue to charge the state-authorized copying rate."
(Davis Wright Tremaine LLP)
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Benefits in General; Executive Compensation
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[Official Guidance]
Text of IRS Announcement 2015-8: Application of Quality Stores Supreme Court Decision to Claims for Refund of Employment Taxes (PDF)
"As a result of the Supreme Court's holding in Quality Stores and the consistent position of the Federal Circuit in CSX, the Service will disallow all claims for refund of FICA or RRTA taxes paid with respect to severance payments that do not satisfy the narrow exclusion contained in Revenue Ruling 90-72. This includes all claims for refund that were held in suspense pending the resolution of Quality Stores and claims filed by taxpayers located within the Sixth Circuit's jurisdiction. Since the definition of wages contained in section 3121(a) of the Internal Revenue Code is generally the same as the definition of wages in section 3306(b) with respect to the FUTA, the Service will also continue to disallow claims for refund of FUTA taxes paid with respect to such severance payments ... The Service will take no further action on the appeal requests that were suspended pending the
resolution of Quality Stores."
(Internal Revenue Service [IRS])
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[Guidance Overview]
Text of IRS Fact Sheet 2015-09: 2014 Tax Changes -- Health Care Law Brings Updates to Tax Forms; Other Benefits Renewed
"This year, there are some changes to tax forms related to the Affordable Care Act. Along with a few new lines on existing forms, there are two new forms that will need to be included with some tax returns.... To help navigate these changes, taxpayers and their tax professionals should consider filing their returns electronically.... [Other items include:] Tax Benefits Renewed... One-Rollover-Per-Year Limit for IRA Owners... Form 8891 Filing Requirement Eliminated... New Way to Make Tax Payments." [Editor's note: Page includes top-level summary of reporting requirements, with links to relevant IRS forms and publications.]
(Internal Revenue Service [IRS])
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[Guidance Overview]
2014 Q&As: DOL Meeting with ABA Joint Committee on Employee Benefits, May 7, 2014 (PDF)
31 pages. Includes 48 questions and answers, including: Definition of Governmental Plan, Spouse, and Party in Interest; Plan Expense; Reasonable Fees; Indemnification; Plan Assets; Expense Ratios; DOL Model COBRA Notice; Missing Participant; Medical Reimbursement Accounts; Fund Benchmarking; Annuity Conversion; Fee Disclosure; Separate SPD for Group Health Plan; Self-Correction of Late Employee Contributions; and Termination Lump Sum Distributions.
(Joint Committee on Employee Benefits [JCEB], American Bar Association)
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Benefits for Domestic Partners: What Does Your Plan Actually Say?
"Many plans started by defining domestic partners as same-sex couples who legally could not get married. 37 states now recognize same-sex marriage, so in many ways, the necessity for this type of eligibility may be falling away.... Some plans want to provide coverage for domestic partners regardless of the gender of the employee.... [W]hether you decide to leave [provisions specific to] 'domestic partners' in, or decide to take them out, make sure you know how you have defined them, how you verify the status and how you apply the plan terms. If you decide to take them out, make sure you provide proper notice to plan participants and properly amend the plan documents, including any summaries that explain eligibility."
(Fox Rothschild LLP)
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Proposed SEC Regs Would Require Disclosure of Company Hedging Policies for Employees, Officers and Directors
"[P]roposed Item 407(i) would require disclosure, in any proxy or information statement relating to the election of directors, of whether any employee or director, or any of their designees, is permitted to purchase any financial instruments or otherwise engage in transactions that are designed to, or have the effect of, hedging or offsetting any decrease in the market value of equity securities that are granted to the employee or director by the company as compensation or held, directly or indirectly, by the employee or director. Notably, the rule proposal does not require companies to prohibit hedging by employees or directors."
(Sidley Austin LLP)
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Press Releases
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