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HUB International Limited
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Pentegra Retirement Services
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Pentegra Retirement Services
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New Employer Reporting Requirements
August 12, 2015 in TX
(Worldwide Employee Benefits Network [WEB] - Houston Chapter)

All-Day Seminar With Sal Tripodi
August 25, 2015 in IN
(ASPPA Benefits Council [ABC] of Northern Indiana)

Supreme Court Decisions on the Affordable Care Act and Same-Sex Marriage: What Do They Mean for Your Health Plans?
August 26, 2015 in IL
(Worldwide Employee Benefits Network [WEB] - Chicago Downtown Chapter)

Employer-Sponsored Health Coverage Information Reporting Requirements for Applicable Large Employers
September 10, 2015 WEBCAST
(IRS [Internal Revenue Service])

2015 Fall Conference
September 30, 2015 in MA
(Council of Institutional Investors)

Fall Workshop
October 1, 2015 in MA
(ASPPA Benefits Council [ABC] of New England)

23rd Annual Conference & Exhibition
October 27, 2015 in CA
(National Association of Stock Plan Professionals [NASPP])

View All Webcasts and Conferences

[Guidance Overview]

Rhode Island Adopts Standards to Improve Health Care Delivery and Payment Systems (PDF)
"The Alternative Payment Methodology Plan establishes payment reform targets for commercial insurers and sets a target for at least 30% of insured medical payments to be made through an alternative payment model by 2016. The payment reform targets will increase the use of payments that emphasize value rather than volume and include efficiency-based global and bundled payment models, as well as payments based on quality performance." (State of Rhode Island Office of the Health Insurance Commissioner)  

[Advert.]

Mercer Select's Guide to ACA Employer Shared Responsibility

Fortify your compliance efforts with the Guide to ACA Employer Shared Responsibility. This 300-page resource will help you understand your obligations, identify compliance steps, and set a play-or-pay strategy. Contact us at select@mercer.com.

GAO and ASPE Reports Reveal IRS/Marketplace Coordination Difficulties, Impact of Competition on Premiums
"The [GAO report] ... is both one of the clearest and most succinct descriptions of how coordination is supposed to work between the [IRS] and the ACA marketplaces in administering the ACA's premium tax credit and individual responsibility penalty, and the best description of how that coordination in fact functioned in the 2014 tax filing season, in 2015.... [On] the whole [the report] shows a program with much room for improvement.... [ASPE reports that the] benchmark plan premium growth between 2014 and 2015 was 8.4 percentage points lower in counties that saw a net gain in insurers than in other counties, with each net gain of one insurer associated with a 2.8 percentage point reduction in the rate of growth of the benchmark premium." (Health Affairs)  

Texas Blue Decision Could Signal Twilight of the Exchange PPO
"Lost in the noise over mega-mergers, one of the biggest carriers anywhere, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas, announced plans to stop selling its Blue Choice PPO on and off the exchange in 2016.... This isn't an insurer discarding a poorly performing plan design that failed to sway consumers. The Texas Blue plan has more enrollment in Blue Choice than many insurers have total members." (HealthLeaders-InterStudy)  

Increased Competition Kept Lid on Health Insurance Inflation, HHS Says
"Most people who bought insurance through the federal marketplace had a greater choice of health plans this year than in 2014, the administration said, and premiums rose less in counties where more insurers were competing for business. The presence of additional insurers 'played an important role in moderating premium increases,' said Richard G. Frank, an assistant secretary of [HHS].... Federal health officials refused to speculate on how insurance company mergers might affect premiums." (The New York Times; subscription may be required)  

CVS and IBM's Watson Health Cloud Pursue Ways to Predict Patient Health
"CVS said IBM's Watson Health technology can work to predict a patient's declining health so doctors, pharmacists and other providers can use that information to be more proactive in coming up with a program to improve care and keep people healthy and engaged. CVS said it would use the platform in aiding patients who use its pharmacies or Minute Clinic brand retail clinics as well as offering it to employer clients of CVS' Caremark pharmacy benefit management business." (Forbes)  

Nonprofit Health Insurance CO-OPs Are Awash in Red Ink
"Only one out of 23 -- the co-op in Maine -- made money last year ... The Massachusetts co-op spent more than six times as much on administrative expenses as it collected in premiums.... One of the 23 co-ops in the report has already gone out business. The Iowa/Nebraska co-op was shut down by state regulators over financial concerns. Another one, the Louisiana Health Cooperative, announced last week it will cease offering coverage next year ... [P]er-enrollee administrative costs for the co-ops in 2014 ... ranged from a high of nearly $10,900 per member in Massachusetts to $430 in Kentucky. The Massachusetts co-op collected $2.9 million in premiums, and spent $18.5 million on administration[.]" (InsuranceNewsNet.com)  

[Opinion]

Business Roundtable Comment Letter to IRS on ACA's 40 Percent Excise Tax on Health Care Benefits
"The broad application of the 40 percent excise tax means that, over time, the health benefit plans of all major U.S. employers will be subject to the tax. The impact of the eventual tax liability resulting from this provision is staggering and will distort the employer-sponsored health care marketplace, leading to dramatic changes in the benefits offered to employees." (Business Roundtable [BRT])  

Second Circuit Creates Three-Part Test for Determining Whether Severance Policy Falls Under ERISA
"The Court established three factors that courts will consider when deciding the ultimate question of whether a particular undertaking is an ERISA 'plan, fund, or program:' '[1] whether the employer's undertaking or obligation requires managerial discretion in its administration; [2] whether a reasonable employee would perceive an ongoing commitment by the employer to provide employee benefits; and [3] whether the employer was required to analyze the circumstances of each employee's termination separately in light of certain criteria.' " [Okun v. Montefiore Medical Center, No. 13-3928 (2d Cir. July 17, 2015)] (Reid and Riege, P.C.)  

Summary of Recent ERISA Court Decisions, July 30, 2015
Highlighted decisions: [1] Retirement plan's definition of "normal retirement age" as five years of service violated ERISA (2d Cir.); [2] Employer abused its discretion in denying LTD claim by ignoring favorable treating physician evidence, relying heavily on physician consultants, and failing to get an in-person examination (6th Cir.); [3] Notice of contingent withdrawal liability satisfied the successor liability notice requirement (7th Cir.); [4] Plan participant was not entitled to convert previously elected early retirement benefit into a disability claim under the unambiguous terms of defined benefit pension plan (10th Cir.); and summaries of several slip copy and unreported decisions. (Springer & Roberts LLP)  

BrightScope Names Top Three Mutual Funds Held in Retirement Plans Across Investment Categories
BrightScope

HCSC President and CEO Pat Hemingway Hall To Retire; Board Names Chief Strategy Officer Paula Steiner as Successor
Health Care Service Corporation

John Hancock Retirement Plan Services to Offer Morningstar's HelloWallet Financial Wellness Tool to Plan Participants on its Total Retirement Solution Platform
John Hancock Retirement Plan Services

Melanie S. Dickinson and Jim McCormick named Top Retirement Plan Advisors
PMD Advisory, Inc.

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