Assistant Plan Administrator
Pollard & Associates, Inc.
in MD

Senior Manager ERISA
Great-West
in KS

Implementation Mgr - Retirement Plans
The Standard
in OH, OR

Retirement Plan Administration - DC Plans
R-Tech Consultants, Inc.
in CA

Retirement Account Administrator
Alerus Financial
in NH

Employee Benefits Pension Consultant (Law Firm)
Chang, Ruthenberg & Long PC
in CA

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ACA Information Returns (AIR): Forms 1094-C and 1095-C Non-technical Walkthrough (Rescheduled)
July 28, 2015 WEBCAST
(IRS [Internal Revenue Service])

Employer-Sponsored Health Coverage Information Reporting Requirements for Applicable Large Employers
July 29, 2015 WEBCAST
(IRS [Internal Revenue Service])

What the Healthcare Law Means for your Small Business
August 6, 2015 WEBCAST
(Small Business Majority)

Unrelated Business Taxable Income
August 25, 2015 WEBCAST
(ASPPA [American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries])

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[Official Guidance]

Text of OPM Carrier Letter 2015-13: Reporting Under Section 6055 for Federal Employees Health Benefits Program Carriers (PDF)
"OPM has determined, and has advised agencies and payroll offices, that all FEHB plans are considered fully insured for purposes of IRC section 6055. OPM is requiring plans to comply with this requirement to ensure the Federal government properly reports information concerning covered employees to the IRS. FEHB carriers must file and furnish Form 1095-B statements for all enrollees and their covered dependents. On the Form 1095-B, FEHB carriers must also complete the fields under Part II for employer sponsored coverage." (U.S. Office of Personnel Management [OPM])  

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ERISA's Exhausting and Exasperating Exhaustion Requirement: The Exceptions Medical Providers Should Know
"[I]nsurers commonly raise the failure of a provider -- whether in- or out-of-network -- to exhaust plan remedies as an affirmative defense to reimbursement claims, creating an additional hurdle for providers to surmount before the merits of such claims can be litigated. Courts have created a number of exceptions to the exhaustion requirement that may assist providers in obtaining full reimbursement under ERISA for services rendered. Providers would be well-served to be aware of these exceptions before they begin to pursue plan remedies." (K&L Gates LLP)  

Congress Wows with Medicare Telehealth Parity Act of 2015, But Will It Succeed?
"Containing three implementation phases over a four year horizon, the Act proposes changes to Medicare telehealth payment methodologies and expands coverage not only to residents of rural areas, but urban areas as well." (Foley & Lardner LLP)  

Individual Mandate Penalty Stats Now Available: 2% of Americans Paid It and 300,000 Shouldn't Have
"300,000 taxpayers overpaid the penalty by a total of $35 million by failing to accurately apply one of the, now, 32 exemptions to the mandate.... [T]he IRS has not yet decided if it will issue a refund for those overpayments or pocket the cash. 10.7 million taxpayers did make use of one of the 32 exemptions.... 2.6 million Americans received an average of $3,000 each to buy a PPACA Exchange plan." (Benefit Revolution)  

The Oregon Health Insurance Experiment
"This brief summarizes findings of the Oregon Health Insurance Experiment, a randomized controlled study made possible by a unique lottery process used in 2008 to expand Medicaid coverage in the state. The study addresses many of the issues being considered by policy makers, including take-up rates and characteristics of enrollees; use of health services; health outcomes and measures of well-being; enrollee finances and medical debt; as well as indirect societal effects on labor markets, private insurance coverage, and participation in other public programs." (Health Affairs)  

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As a benefit to our partnership with IHC, BENEFITSLINK.COM would like to extend to you a complimentary registration FREE of charge to Private Exchange FORUM. Use Promo Code: BENEFITSLINKVIP Hurry, Offer expires July 31, 2015

The Evolving Rationale for Consolidation in Health Care
"Historically, mergers and acquisitions have been motivated by acute financial distress, clinical deficiencies, or capital needs. While these factors remain relevant, recent activity appears to be focused on repositioning for a value-based healthcare system. Consolidation is now driven at least in part by a desire to access new competencies, and is more proactive than defensive. In fact, many hospitals and health systems are combining from a position of strength." (HFMA)  

Examining Implications of Health Insurance Mergers
"There is no question but that consolidations of this magnitude would raise considerable concern for the simple reason that cost control in health care depends on competitive markets at both the payor and provider levels....Because each market is local, antitrust analysis would also require an assessment of the competitive overlap in each region. DOJ, which has been criticized for its inattention to health insurance consolidation, has challenged only four mergers of health insurance companies, in contrast to dozens of cases and investigations involving hospital mergers." (Health Affairs)  

Legislation Would Extend Provision for Using Surplus Pension Funding
"[MAP-21] included a provision extending the ability of employers to transfer excess pension assets to fund retiree health benefits and expanding the provision to allow transfers for retiree life insurance. H.R. 3038, the 'Highway and Transportation Funding Act of 2015,' would extend the time period for using these excess assets from 2021 to 2025 to pay for retiree medical accounts and retiree life insurance." (planadviser)  

Ten Years Later, Employers Still Striving for a '409A+' (PDF)
"If a severance arrangement is entirely or partially subject to Section 409A ... the payout trigger must be one of the enumerated permissible triggers under Section 409A.... There are a number of benefits that companies offer in [severance] packages that can be subject to Section 409A -- for example, continued health coverage, enhanced severance paid to provide consideration for a release, payment for a noncompete or other restrictive covenants, an allowance to an expat for the return to his or her home country or other moving or relocation assistance, the ability to buy a company-provided car at cost, amounts paid in lieu of annual bonuses or long- term incentives, outplacement, and amounts paid in lieu of contributions to a retirement plan." (Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP)  

[Opinion]

DOL Shatters the American Dream
"The practical effect of [Administrator's Interpretation 2015-1] will be to deprive many individuals of the freedom to be self-employed.... This new Interpretation affects every employer utilizing the services of independent contractors. The potential adverse consequences of misclassification can be severe. An employer confronted with an adverse DOL decision may be liable for payroll taxes, overtime payments, and other taxes and back benefits for a period of two or more years." (The Lowenbaum Partnership, LLC)