Pension Consultants/ Administrators
Leading Northern NJ Actuarial Firm
in NJ

Accountant--Retirement Plan Services
T. Rowe Price
in MD

Retirement Plan Specialist / Client Service Advisor
Favia Group
in IL

Administrator - DB/DC Plans
Benetech, Inc.
in CA

ERISA Attorney
Schwartz, Steinsapir, Dohrmann & Sommers LLP
in CA

Retirement Plan Administrator
Florida Retirement Consultants
in FL

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Form 5500 for Health and Welfare Plans: Preparation and Filing Basics
RECORDED
(Thomson Reuters / EBIA)

Dealing With Cybersecurity Threats & Breaches
May 28, 2015 WEBCAST
(ABA Joint Committee on Employee Benefits)

Affordable Care Act: 2015 Update for Tax Professionals
June 3, 2015 in NY
(Hodgson Russ)

ERISA Compliance for Health & Welfare Plans
October 7, 2015 in WA
(Thomson Reuters / EBIA)

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[Guidance Overview]

ACA Resources for Frequently Asked Questions, Updated March 27, 2015 (PDF)
"The report provides basic consumer sources, including a glossary of health coverage terms, followed by sources on how the ACA affects taxes. The next sections focus on health coverage: the individual mandate, private health insurance, and exchanges, as well as public health care programs ... It then lists sources on employer-sponsored coverage, including sources on employer penalties, small businesses, federal workers' health plans, and union health plans. It also provides sources on the ACA's provisions on mental health, public health, workforce, and quality. Finally, the report lists sources on ACA costs and appropriations, legal issues, the treatment of noncitizens under the ACA, and sources for obtaining the law's full text." [CRS Report R43215] (Congressional Research Service)  

[Advert.]

Register -- MBGH Annual Conference for Health Benefits and Health Care

The Midwest Business Group on Health's 35th Annual Conference will be held April 29-30 in Chicago, featuring leading employers and industry experts providing objective, timely and practical information on the latest research, trends and best practices.

[Guidance Overview]

CMS Key Priorities for FFM Compliance Reviews for the 2015 Benefit Year (PDF)
"CMS will perform compliance reviews of issuers offering Qualified Health Plans (QHPs) in the Federally-facilitated Marketplaces (FFM).... CMS will review data at both the issuer and the QHP level... Table A below lists the regulatory standards governing QHP certification that we anticipate including as part of the FFM compliance reviews for the 2015 benefit year.... The compliance review that is the subject of this document is separate from other audits and reviews that may be conducted to ensure compliance with the Affordable Care Act (e.g., MLR audits, policy and rate filing reviews, and reinsurance-eligible plan audits). We have provided illustrative examples, in Table B, of regulatory standards that fall into this second category of requirements that will be monitored for compliance through other review and oversight mechanism." (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services [CMS], U.S. Department of Health and Human Services [HHS])  

[Guidance Overview]

The ACA's Cadillac Tax: What Employers Need to Know
"Employers will be responsible for calculating whether the health plans employees enroll in provide an excess benefit. The calculations are based on the health coverage the employee actually enrolls in, not just what is offered to the employee. ALL employer plans, not just large employers, are potentially subject to the Cadillac Tax.... Similar to the COBRA rules, the Treasury anticipates the cost of applicable coverage for an employee will be based on the average costs of applicable coverage for an employee and all similarly situated employees, rather than based on the characteristics of each individual." (Liebert Cassidy Whitmore)  

What Does the ACA's Excise Tax on High-Cost Plans Actually Tax? (PDF)
"Depending on the combination of these premium-driving factors other than benefit level, premiums for a given employer can be expected to exceed the threshold for incurring the tax even for a plan without especially rich benefits. As a result, although the excise tax is often referred to as a tax on overgenerous health benefits, it is likely to be a tax based on factors other than benefit level and beyond the control of health plan members.... There are also many areas of the country where the combined effect of premium-driving factors will make it unlikely that the threshold could be exceeded, no matter how rich the benefit plan." (Milliman, for the National Education Association)  

Consumers Contributing Less to Health Savings Accounts
"Between 2011 and 2014, the percentage of people who said they contributed nothing to their health savings accounts (HSAs) more than doubled, to 23 percent ... Meanwhile, the percentage who said they contributed $1,500 or more dropped to 30 percent from 44 percent.... In 2014, 73 percent of companies with more than 1,000 workers offered an account-based health plan, up from 51 percent in 2009 ... A third of workers at those companies were enrolled in such accounts in 2014, the survey found, more than double the median 14 percent that were enrolled five years earlier." (Kaiser Health News)  

Supreme Court Will Resolve Split over ERISA Reimbursement
"Employer-sponsored health plans could benefit from a ruling that ends a circuit court split that has allowed plan participants and beneficiaries in certain jurisdictions to avoid repaying plans by spending funds faster than plans could track them. Plans also would enjoy a ruling saying plan recovery language still can be enforced even if it is not in every part of the document (for example, if it is in the summary plan description only)." [Bd. of Trustees of the National Elevator Industry Health Benefit Plan v. Montanile, No. 14-11678 (11th Cir. Nov. 25, 2014; cert. pet. granted Mar. 30, 2015)] (Thompson SmartHR Manager)  

Time to Take Another Look at Stop-Loss Insurance (PDF)
6 pages. "This [article] reviews the basics of stop-loss insurance ... and how plan sponsors can use it to better manage the added risk and increased cost to plans that have made plan design changes to comply with the Affordable Care Act. It also looks at recent innovations and best practices for purchasing stop-loss insurance." (Segal Consulting)  

Noteworthy Developments of Interest to Sponsors of Public Sector Health Plans, Second Quarter 2015 (PDF)
"Health benefit plan cost trend rates projected for 2015 show a slight drop for some types of coverage, but a substantial increase for prescription drug coverage.... Employers are looking for ways to decrease health care spending before the ACA excise tax goes into effect in 2018. Strategies include: [1] Investing in wellness programs, [2] Moving to a consumer driven health plan, [3] Offering health care cost transparency tools, [4] Contracting directly with providers, [5] Introducing spousal surcharges, and [6] Monitoring the success of private exchanges." (Segal Consulting)  

Insurers' Marketshare 2010-2014 Dataset
"Dataset tracks insurance carriers' marketshare, pre- and post-ACA, from 2010-2014 in each state. Specifically, the dataset includes ... information on the three largest insurance plans for the Individual Market, The Small Group Market, and the Large Group Market." (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation)  

Insurance Premiums 2013-2015 Dataset
"The Insurance Premiums 2013-2015 Dataset provides information on average monthly premium costs for all 50 states. Data are presented for multiple demographics, including gender and age, and multiple metal tiers. Moreover, the data represent premiums across multiple years, from 2013-2015, and include variables tracking percent change." (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation)  

[Guidance Overview]

IRS Issues Amendment to Section 162(m) Regs (PDF)
"On March 31, 2015, the Treasury Department and the IRS issued final amended regulations under Section 162(m) to clarify that [1] stock plans must provide individual limits; and [2] RSUs granted by IPO companies must be paid prior to the end of the special transition period. Although many practitioners have been operating in accordance with the rules since they were proposed in 2011, all companies should confirm their stock plans comply and companies that are pre-IPO or recently had an IPO and are still within their transition period should review the final rules in order to make appropriate planning decisions with respect to upcoming equity awards." (Frederic W. Cook & Co., Inc.)  

Six Instances Where California Public Sector Employers May Be Missing the Mark
"[1] Offering cafeteria benefits without a plan.... [2] Allowing 'opt-outs' of employee elections to make mandatory contributions.... [3] Permitting employees to 'retire' and then return to work.... [4] Converting non-reportable wages into reportable wages.... [5] Classifying employees as independent contractors.... [6] Not satisfying fiduciary requirements in connection with participant-directed section 457(b) plans." (Chang Ruthenberg & Long PC)